


Starlight Brigade

by cynical_idealist1



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain Marvel (2019), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Everyone Is Alive, F/F, Inhumans (Marvel), science nerd OFC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:26:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23193160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cynical_idealist1/pseuds/cynical_idealist1
Summary: Carol returns to Earth for a break after a roving patrol of the galaxy following the Avengers undoing the infamous "Snap". What happens when she meets a researcher aligned with SHIELD?
Relationships: Carol Danvers/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> The story's title is from the song "Starlight Brigade" by TWRP. I stumbled across the lyrics when I googled 'starlight' out of boredom, because I liked it for Carol's nickname for Sarah. Hope you all enjoy!

“Dennis, I told you,” Sarah murmured as she walked towards the main entrance of the latest SHIELD facility. “I’m finishing up some work here. I promise I’ll be out to see you and the kids next weekend.” 

One guard shot her a guarded smile as she reached the security checkpoint. Sarah smiled back as she flashed her badge to proceed through the checkpoint. She uttered a quick,  _ Hey Phil,  _ as she passed, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder, before focusing back on her conversation with her brother. 

“Sarah, I told the kids already that you would be here before then-” Dennis whined, bemoaning the fact that he would now have to disappoint his children with the news that their aunt wouldn’t make their visit as soon as expected. 

Sarah groaned. Sometimes she wondered who acted more like the older sibling.

“And I told  _ you _ , don’t count on that schedule not changing.” She hated to snap at him as she loved her brother dearly, but honestly; she kept telling him not to tell the kids when her tentative visits were scheduled for and get their hopes up. A SHIELD researcher’s schedule was never concrete, per say, but two weeks was usually a good bet to make plans. 

“Honestly Dennis; we live in the same city.” Sarah said, trying to wrap up the conversation before she hit the classified section of the building; she’d have to leave her phone in a small safe outside before entering. “As soon as this project is finished, then I’ll be able to visit more often, alright? Just give the girls and Chrissie my love and tell them I’ll see them soon.”

All she got on the other line was a melodramatic moan. “Right, because obviously you don’t love  _ me  _ enough to-”

“ _ Good-bye, Dennis. _ ” Sarah drawled, eye roll heavily implied with her tone.

She hung up, not bothering to wait for a response, and stored her phone. 

The researcher smiled to herself as she strode through the doors that housed her lab. 

_ Today’s going to be another beautiful day. _

* * *

“Director Fury, I really think that if you-” The dark-haired man began to argue, agitation clear in his tone and body language. 

“Dr. Nevis, this isn’t a negotiation.” Fury’s visible eye narrowed. “It’s an order: Dr. Sarah Williams will remain in the position of head researcher on the project until I see evidence that she needs to be removed from said position.” He restrained himself - with difficulty - from snapping further at one of the leading scientific researchers currently working at SHIELD. Fury, as politely as was possible for him, ordered the brilliant scientist out of his office to get ready for his next appointment. 

For some reason Fury couldn’t fathom, Dr. Nevis had a problem with most, if not all, of Dr. Williams’ ideas on the teleportation project they were working on. 

Dr. Williams was quiet and mostly kept to herself (he liked that about her - she didn’t cause nearly as much trouble as other PhD recipients he could mention). The redhead was bright and was thought of in her field as the next generation’s Jane Foster, renowned for her work in quantum theory, work that had led to her recruitment by SHIELD to be a consultant on a teleportation project. Since Dr. Selvig also consulted on the project as the head researcher and he happened to be a close friend and colleague of Jane, the whole thing made sense.

The research had been in the works since Fury had insisted upon its initial conception the second he got enough power within the ranks of SHIELD to have his opinion matter for something. After Carol had flown off into space, not to be seen or heard from again until after the infamous ‘Snap’, Fury had known even then that there needed to be a way to jump across galaxies at a moment’s notice; just in case. 

‘Just in case’ was always his reason for planning ahead, after all.

Unfortunately for Fury, at that time, the field of thermonuclear astrophysics had lacked two crucial things: the technology to make teleportation possible, and, more importantly, scientists who didn’t scoff at the idea of ‘magic’. But then Jane Foster appeared to the world with her infamous quip, “ _ Magic is just science that we don’t understand yet. _ ”

Wise words, he’d give her that. 

But a few years back, they’d finally gotten that which they had been missing. Data collected during the experiments with the Tesseract proved invaluable once SHIELD had found Dr. Williams; apparently that intel had been just what she needed to kick-start her research, improving by leaps and bounds from there. According to the pragmatic scientist, they weren’t quite to the living being testing phase yet, but the project had shown sufficient progress to retain funding. 

Dr. Williams was the reason the project had survived in the first place; it was beyond Fury how Nevis could have such a problem with her. 

“Director?”

Fury turned from where he’d been staring off into space at the quiet call from the door. Blue eyes that appeared several times larger than they actually were blinked at him from behind light spectacles at their position by the door. He beckoned her in. 

Time for the next meeting. 

* * *

“And that should be everything for now.” Sarah looked the director in the eye. This was seldom a habit of hers (she preferred looking at her work as opposed to looking at the person she was speaking to when explaining it), only done with those she trusted, and Director Fury had never tried to intimidate her with his size or stature, he treated people exactly the way they treated him. She’d learned to trust her instincts on people, and they were rarely wrong. 

He waved for her to call in his next appointment while she gathered her things. Before grabbing her notes, she walked to the door and stuck her head out, looking for the ‘next appointment’ the director spoke of.

_ Mrow- _

Sarah jumped at the sound of a cat and looked down to see a bright orange tabby staring up at her with soulful eyes. 

“Oh-” Everything else around Sarah seemed to vaporize. “Well,  _ hello there! _ ” She cooed.

She was so engrossed with the cat she failed to notice the other pair of eyes examining her from across the room. 

* * *

Carol had let Goose down as soon as they stepped in the room. The flerken didn’t like to be carried much, especially since she generally followed along with the group pretty well. But in a classified SHIELD facility, what could she do? An angry Fury, while no real threat to her, seemed like an unnecessary consequence she didn’t need at this moment. 

She’d figured that Fury would be in a meeting by the time she showed up, so she elected to wait outside until the previous meeting left. 

It had taken a while, but there was finally some semblance of peace across the galaxy after the chaos that had begun with the ‘Snap’. After the Avengers had conducted their time heist of the Infinity Stones to reverse the damage that had been done, Carol had taken it upon herself to wander from planet to planet lending assistance where it was needed. After a while, it seemed like the situation had stabilized and she figured she was due for a break. 

She’d taken Goose off Fury’s hands for a while when she’d gotten back as a thank-you for taking care of her for all that time. But she knew beneath Fury’s outwardly gruff demeanor, the guy loved that damn ‘cat’. 

Carol had brought Goose in for a visit and now here she was in Fury’s waiting room, idly watching the flerken flit around from corner to corner until a head of bright red hair had poked out of the doorway leading to Fury’s office. The woman had taken one look at Goose and Carol could swear she saw the woman’s heart melt. 

Now where had she seen this whole thing before? 

The woman seemed to know cats, though (or at least what she assumed to be a cat), as she gave Goose her space and allowed the cat to come to her at her own pace. Goose seemed to take an immediate liking to the woman and began purring at her feet. Carol knew not only from her deceased mentor, but also from personal experience, that the flerken didn’t normally take to people so quickly. 

_ That’s new. _

Carol didn’t see the need to move just yet, and simply observed the interaction. The woman was wearing a flowered maroon blouse tucked in to a flattering solid black pencil skirt with matching heels. Her red hair was wavy and tied in a practical low ponytail at the base of her neck. A neck that was on full display, even with the modest cut of the blouse. 

_ My God, I’m totally checking her out.  _ Carol rolled her eyes at herself. How long had it been since she’d had the inclination, let alone the time, to take a personal interest in another being? 

Maybe it had been too long...She’d have to ask Maria the next time she visited what her type had been before she’d been spirited away to the Kree empire all those years ago...Carol hadn’t a clue. 

But if glasses hadn’t done it for her then, they were certainly doing it for her now. And the genuine smile that crinkled the edges of her eyes lit up her entire face as she stroked the flerken’s head. 

The unidentified woman was still petting a purring Goose as Carol finally moved off the desk, moving noisily on purpose so as not to startle the young woman. 

The woman finally looked up and Carol’s gaze locked with hers. 

Neither of them said anything for a long moment; they just stared at each other. 

The woman finally seemed to notice how much time had passed and flushed from her chest all the way up her neck in embarrassment as she looked away. Carol smirked in amusement at the bashful display. 

“She likes you.” Carol inwardly smiled as she quoted her former mentor. “Goose doesn’t usually take to people so easily.”

The redhead’s eyebrows shot up at that. Then she laughed, and just like that, her shyness seemed to vanish into thin air. 

“Is that a  _ Top Gun _ reference?” She asked between laughs. 

“ _ God,  _ I hope so.” Carol couldn’t imagine where the name would have come from otherwise. “I’m Carol.”

“Oh!” The woman scrambled to stand quickly so she could shake the hand Carol had outstretched (completely missing how it was actually held out to help her up). “I-I’m so sorry, how rude of me! I’m Sarah.” 

“Sarah.” Carol repeated. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too!” Sarah finally took in Carol’s casual attire-  _ too  _ casual, she thought, for a meeting with the director of a classified agency...but who was she to judge? “Are you the Director’s next appointment?” 

“That’d be me.”  _ I think. ‘Director’, huh? I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that. I’ll have to rib him some for that later.  _ Her lips quirked upwards at the thought. “Think you could show me in?”

Totally unnecessary, of course, and it seemed obvious (to Carol, at least), that now the captain was flirting with the other woman. 

Sarah, though, seemed to only pick up on that she happened to be in Carol’s way physically, sensing none of the flirtation. 

“Right, right.” Sarah gave a nervous chuckle as she led the way back into the office, with Carol following after her with a chuckle of her own, scooping up the flerken along the way. 

* * *

Sarah tried to force down the blush that had seemed to become permanent on her face as she led the newcomer into the director’s office. 

_ God, she’s gorgeous! _

The way the woman carried herself with such confidence, almost a bravado, in ripped jeans with a leather jacket over a Guns N’ Roses t-shirt was undoubtedly attractive. Not to mention her blonde hair that was classically swept back, long enough to avoid a strictly masculine look, but not so long as to be in the way of anything. 

_ I wonder what she’s doing here?  _

“Carol?” Fury said. “What the hell are you doing?”

The woman smirked. “I’m dropping off Goose.” She held the cat up at arm’s length in a teasing way, as if Fury couldn’t already see the animal from across the room. 

Sarah was amazed at the way Fury’s face immediately softened (unconsciously, she was sure) at the sight of the tabby. She almost laughed at the sight but somehow she doubted her boss would appreciate that. 

Carol seemed to pick up on the inadvertent show of affection in the director’s eyes as well, because her grin widened in amusement. She didn’t seem to care, though, about what he thought about her attempt at humor because she didn’t bother to hold back her chuckle. 

Fury glowered at the blonde as she laughed.

_ They clearly know each other...and not in a strictly business way either. That relationship is personal. _

“You’re dismissed, Dr. Williams.”

Sarah started out of the daze she’d briefly fallen into at hearing Carol’s laugh, quickly gathered her notes and stole from the room before she could do anything else to embarrass herself. 

“Really, Carol?”

Carol didn’t hear Fury’s sarcasm as she watched the redhead flee the room as if she were on fire. 

“‘ _ Dr. _ ’ Williams?” Carol asked incredulously. “That woman looks like she should still be writing papers for a college class.”

“‘ _ That woman’ _ happens to be one of the brightest minds of her generation when it comes to quantum physics.”

“She’s a consultant?”

“She’s working on a project for us.” He gave her a look. “Need-to-know.”

Carol stared right back, smirk still firmly in place. 

Fury sighed. “Dr. Williams is working with her team to study the Monolith to duplicate a teleportation device that could send assets across the galaxy, if needed.”

The captain nodded. She wasn’t a strategist by nature, but even she could see the merit in creating a piece of equipment like that. 

“Trying to finally catch up with the rest of the galaxy, huh?” She teased. 

Fury harrumphed before turning to coo at Goose, who had quickly trotted over to rub against Fury’s feet as soon as Carol had put her down. 

Carol’s thoughts remained with a certain redheaded scientist. 

_ Teleportation research, huh?  _ She smirked to herself.  _ This I gotta see. _

* * *

Over the next few days, Carol tried (and failed) to come up with an excuse to speak to the redhead scientist again, but it seemed like work always got in the way. Carol periodically got sent on missions (mostly small ones that were closer to home recently), but even if she didn’t, Sarah’s research kept her so busy the redhead barely had time to eat, let alone have a conversation with anyone. 

Not that Sarah seemed to do much of that anyway. The strongest avenger got the impression that the researcher was very introverted, not speaking to anyone unless it was related to the science of her work. The redhead didn’t seem inclined to want a more personal relationship with anyone at SHIELD. 

Except Goose. The few times Carol or Fury had run into Sarah with Goose in tow, the scientist’s face immediately lit up and she would go out of her way to come over and say ‘hello’ to the flerken. 

Carol hadn’t had the heart to explain the ‘cat’s’ true nature to the researcher while she seemed so happy with the feline-looking creature. Although Sarah’s clear adoration of Goose should have given Carol an easy way to break the ice with the shy scientist, it felt almost like manipulating one of the few ways that Carol could see Sarah being truly happy in her work building when she wasn’t making some sort of breakthroughs with her oddly-named gadgets. 

Of course, all of this was simply observations from the few times Carol had chatted with Sarah, or sighted her while she happened to be passing by after a training session. 

She may or may not have taken the long way around to see if she could glimpse a flash of red hair on her way to the briefing room every day.

_ God, I must be desperate for something to occupy my mind.  _ Carol thought to herself.  _ What the hell is wrong with me? _

So she did what Maria told her over and over she was guilty of doing when she had a problem- she avoided it and threw herself into her training. 

Like tonight. Carol trained far longer than she usually did, trying to exhaust her mind. She thought that if she could at least find something wrong with Sarah then maybe she wouldn’t be as inclined to obsess over the girl so much. 

Carol sighed as she finished her last set of reps. The training facilities here were clearly not designed with someone with her kind of power in mind. She had to do hundreds of reps on their heaviest setting to even feel anything. And even the most seasoned of martial artists that were stationed here had immense trouble fighting hand-to-hand with her...even without using her strength or photon energy. 

_ That’s it.  _ She thought, weary as a result of boredom rather than any physical exertion.  _ I’ve got to talk to Fury about upgrading the gym if I’m going to be sticking around...Although he’d probably just tell me to jet to another planet with stronger residents to train if I was so desperate for someone to spar with.  _

Shaking her head, she grabbed her water bottle and took a quick shower before heading to the main entrance of the building. 

_ Maybe I’ll go see if that parlor on 32nd is still open. _

Way back when, Carol had visited New York City once, and there was a burger joint that she’d absolutely fallen in love with. It was on the other side of the city, but what did that matter when you could fly faster than 6 times the speed of sound? 

Carol was snapped out of her thoughts by a light in her peripheral vision as she passed Sarah’s lab. She hadn’t been looking for the researcher because Carol had assumed that she had already gone home. It was past 2100...what was anyone still doing here? 

The flash had resulted from Sarah moving between Carol’s line of sight and the light that shone from the new teleportation equipment (at least that’s what Carol assumed). But it was pretty high up. What was she doing up there? 

After gaining access to the room by placing her palm on the reader, Carol stepped over the threshold and looked for Sarah again. 

_ What is she looking at? _

The scientist seemed to be staring at something far away, and slowly stepped as if in a trance in the direction she was looking. Carol saw Sarah’s shoulders heave before she heard the sob that the other woman let out. 

Carol didn’t know what was upsetting the researcher or what was making her act this way, but she wasn’t even looking where she was-

Before her thought fully formed, she was already shouting up at the redhead. 

Anything to get her attention and halt her advance to the end of the scaffolding before her. 

* * *

She hadn’t meant to forget. 

Sarah always remembered her dad’s birthday. Every year. She and Dennis would at least mention it, if they weren’t able to do something special on the day.

Was there something wrong with forgetting about his date of death until she physically saw and processed the numbers on her computer screen?

She supposed it should be a good sign; that’s what she’d imagine any therapist would say.  _ “You’ve moved on enough to not dwell so much on the day that changed your life forever.” _

But when she’d seen his face for the first time since that day without her being unconscious, she’d started to wonder. Maybe he was angry she had forgotten, and now he’d come to haunt her or something? 

At least, that had been her first thought. True, it’d been so many years...a whole decade today, if her math was right (and it always is), and she’d been so busy. 

But then she saw his gentle smile, heard the gentle whisper of the voice that had made her feel so safe for so many years...and when he’d beckoned, she couldn’t find it in her to resist. 

Up and up to the highest point of the scaffolding that held her current project together. She needed only reach out her hand and she felt as if she could just- 

_ “Hey!” _

Sarah startled at the sudden shout of a worried voice, losing her footing on the grates that she stood on as the vision of her father vanished. She didn’t even have time to properly scream before she hit the ground. 

_ I’d be in a lot more pain if I’d hit the ground, though.  _

Slowly coming back to herself, Sarah tentatively opened her eyes. 

And looked straight into the eyes of Carol Danvers herself. The blonde’s hair looked as if it were on fire, and her entire body was sparkling with energy.

“Jesus, what were you  _ doing? _ ”

Sarah registered (much more sluggishly than she was strictly comfortable with) that she was being securely held in the arms of the woman who had been the inspiration for the Avengers team in the first place.

Not that she’d known who Carol was when they’d first met. 

She may or may not have asked after said Avenger to Director Fury, whom, instead of being annoyed with her for her questions, seemed mildly amused by Sarah’s sudden interest in Carol “Avenger” Danvers. 

“Are you listening to me?” Carol snapped. “You could have been killed! What the hell were you looking at?”

The combination of the woman’s harsh tone and the memory of what she’d seen made Sarah’s eyes fill with tears again without a second’s warning. Even the electric feeling of Carol’s hands at her back and under her knees wasn’t enough to override the sudden onslaught of grief that Sarah felt. 

Sarah felt her glasses dig into her face as she covered her face, trying to hold back a sob.

Her tears seemed to disarm the nigh-indestructible woman. Enough to float gently to the ground level of Sarah’s lab and find a chair that Carol then pulled out with her foot. She gently placed a still-trembling Sarah into the seat and tried- softly, this time- to get her attention. 

“Hey.” 

Sarah didn’t look up at the hands that were placed on her shoulders in an attempt to get her to look at their owner. 

Carol sighed. It didn’t matter how many times she was confronted with the situation; a crying woman was something to handle delicately. And Carol was anything but delicate...in more ways than one.

The scientist heard Carol gently pull away but as she got the courage to look up, she saw that Carol had only stepped away to pull the blinds to the windows that looked into the lab. 

_ Is she trying to save me the embarrassment of anyone seeing me like this?  _

The gesture melted Sarah’s heart, even if her logical mind knew it was very unlikely that more people were wandering the building this time of night. 

Not that the two of them could talk. 

Sarah finally made eye contact with the woman who’d caught her, and seeing so much heartfelt concern quickly made her uncomfortable again, making her avert her eyes again to the opposite wall. 

“I-God, I’m so sorry you had to see that.” Sarah sniffled, beyond humiliated at the situation she found herself in. 

“You don’t have to apologize.” Carol responded, glad that the woman at least seemed to be able to manage complete sentences now. She tilted her head curiously as she observed the other woman. “There has to be a better way to cope than that, though.”

“What?” 

Carol pointed to the rafters above their heads from which Sarah had fallen. “If you wanted to die upon impact you probably should pick somewhere a bit higher.”

Sarah shook her head, appalled. “I would never-”

The captain shrugged. “Hey, no judgement here...” She misunderstood Sarah’s confusion for a more philosophical variety. “Everyone has days that are worse than others. I had no idea the research was going tha-”

“I wasn’t going to jump!” Sarah protested. “I didn’t even know that dropoff was there!”

The blonde remained skeptical, eyebrows knitting together. “Then why were you so close to the edge up there?”

“I-” Sarah wasn’t sure what sounded worse- suicidal or crazy. “I saw my father...”

“Does your father happen to be in New York?” Carol correctly assumed the answer, but it wasn’t for the reasons she thought. 

“No, he-” The redhead felt her eyes well up with tears again.  _ God, why is this happening to me? _

Carol all but heard the pieces  _ click!  _ into place as she watched the other woman try to compose herself. 

_ Oh. _

Realizing this was probably the last thing in the world that the woman wanted to be thinking about, Carol quickly changed the subject. 

“Want to get out of here?”

Sarah seemed perplexed at the sudden shift in conversation even as she struggled to contain her emotions. 

“Let’s go get food or something, yeah?” Carol pushed gently. “You look like you could use a break.”

The other woman didn’t respond, but just stared blankly at the blonde. 

Carol reached out a hand slowly to help Sarah from her seat. She jerked her head towards the exit with a small smile. “C’mon.”

Sarah was helpless against the soft look in the other woman’s eyes. She placed her hand in Carol’s and stood from the chair, making it roll slightly behind her. 

The blonde paused as they made their way towards the door, her head tilting as if she were listening to something only she could hear. 

_ Something’s...off.  _

“Carol? Is something wrong?”

Carol shook it off, smiling in reassurance to the woman behind her. “No...It’s nothing.”

Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes glaring at them as they left the room.

* * *

“Uhm...no.” 

Carol tilted her head, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a curious golden retriever puppy. 

The blonde dropped her arms that had been previously outstretched as she watched Sarah quickly stride to her car, apparently expecting Carol to follow.

“I’m just saying; it’d be faster if we fly.” Carol quipped, smirking. “I can take you back to your car later.”

“ _ Yes,  _ I’m aware of the time-speed-distance calculations of the time to be saved if we flew at 6 times the speed of sound.” Sarah shuddered as she clicked the  _ unlock _ button on her key fob, her car chirping as she approached. 

Carol blinked, then grinned. “You know how fast I can fly?”

Sarah froze by the driver’s side, and Carol spotted a red flush that seemed to creep up the sides of her neck that were visible from where Sarah’s hair was tied back. 

_ Oh God. How do I explain how I know that?  _ “Uh...I-” She couldn’t say it was because she had asked around about who the ‘new, casually-dressed blonde with the perpetual smirk’ was. 

Imagine her surprise to find out Carol was not as  _ new  _ to SHIELD as she had assumed. 

Carol laughed. “You’ve been  _ asking  _ about me!” 

Sarah whipped around, her face as red as her hair in mortification. “I’d never seen you before...It seemed odd to have someone so casually dressed in a SHIELD facility, and the way you interacted so friendly with Director Fury-”

“Easy there, starlight.” Carol reassured, smiling widely. “I’m only teasing.” 

Sarah dropped her head into her hands, groaning. 

The blonde approached the passenger side door, laughing so hard she felt her sides beginning to ache.  _ When was the last time I laughed this much? _

“C’mon.” She gave a genuine smile, sliding into the passenger side. “Let’s get food. I’m starving!”

Sarah rolled her eyes at herself, but gave a small smile as she huffed, opening the door to the driver’s side. 

* * *

It would take them over an hour to reach the burger place Carol had described. 

They laughed at a story Carol was telling of a time she’d infiltrated an enemy camp. 

“Then he looks around,” Carol gesticulated animatedly with her hands as she smiled widely. “And with this big-eyed look in his eyes he goes, ‘ _ With what? _ ’“ 

Sarah was fascinated. She was only able to keep occasional eye contact with Carol due to her keeping her eyes on the road, but Carol was surprisingly funny. 

Not that it was really that surprising, she supposed. But from what she’d heard of the first credited Avenger, she didn’t get along with people, often coming off as cold, arrogant and curt, bordering on rude. Sarah recognized that sort of behavior; it was how she knew she had come off to people before she had been forced to learn to get along with others for the betterment of her career. 

Sarah shook her head. She’d lost count of how many behavioral books and studies she’d read in order to not unintentionally offend people.

Naturally introverted, Sarah tired easily at excessive social interaction with people. That wasn’t to say that she hated people in general; people often confused ‘introverted’ with ‘antisocial’. It was possible to be only one or the other. People didn’t disgust her, per say, but they did scare her. They quickly made judgements based on her at-first-glance shy and withdrawn behavior, not bothering to get to know her true self. 

Sarah would bet money Carol was very similar to herself in terms of social tendencies. But seeing her now, she couldn’t imagine how someone could  _ not  _ like Carol after getting to know her. She was sarcastic, witty,  _ intelligent,  _ and it showed in her sense of humor. 

After their laughter quieted, Sarah briefly looked over at Carol who was smiling out the window. 

“You’re-” Sarah shook her head. “Nothing like I expected.” 

Carol clutched her own chest in mock-offense. “And what exactly did you expect?” She gasped.

Sarah shrugged. “Not quite so...well, likeable.” 

She didn’t add her internal dialogue.  _ I usually don’t warm to people so quickly...Maybe I take after Goose like that. _

“Guess I’m an acquired taste.” Carol quipped, still smiling out the window. She didn’t seem to care at all about what Sarah’s statement implied about what the other employees of SHIELD thought of the strongest Avenger. 

“Like an aged wine.” 

“ _ Aged? _ ” Carol gasped, with a teasing grin. “I’ll have you know I’m not a day over fifty-nine.”

_ Fifty-nine? _

Sarah coughed, unable to hide her surprise. “Well, you- uh,” She gave Carol a sideways once-over from the corner of her eye, not looking away from the road for more than a second. “Look  _ really  _ good for your age.” 

“I do, huh?” Carol briefly considered making a crass comment about how her  _ advanced age _ did nothing to decrease her libido, but decided to take pity on Sarah, who was, at this point, already as red as a tomato. Carol wasn’t even trying to flirt anymore; Sarah seemed oblivious to any flattering looks or comments thrown her way. 

Carol’s observation was further confirmed as they pulled into a parking spot across the street from the diner she’d suggested. As the women pulled themselves from the car, several men (and a few women) turned to look at Sarah as she walked past, Carol following a few steps behind her, amusedly watching people’s reaction to the shy researcher. 

Well, shy until you got to know her, apparently. She didn’t think the timid persona Sarah displayed at SHIELD was an act. On the contrary, Sarah’s work personality seemed to be the same as Carol’s own sardonic demeanor was for her: protection against the judgements of other people. 

But Carol didn’t give a damn how she came off to people. Sarah gave a damn, but seemed resigned to how people viewed her. 

Their outward personalities had something in common; they prevented anyone from getting too close. 

Carol opened the door to the diner open for Sarah, still deep in thought.

Carol couldn’t remember the last time she actually wanted to get close to someone. On Earth, anyway. Even on other planets, her interpersonal relationships had been limited to those that had information on the mission she happened to be working at the time. Carol had never thought twice about her lack of interaction with other people.

This slip of a woman she’d just met made Carol want to re-think all that.  _ How is that possible? _

“Carol?” 

The blonde looked up to see Sarah looking expectantly over her shoulder as she was led to a table at the far end of the diner. Carol chose the seat facing the door out of habit, and once they ordered, Sarah cleared her throat. 

“He died.” 

Startled by the sudden change in subject, Carol blinked. “Pardon?”

“My dad. He died when I was nineteen.” She took a quick sip from the water glass in front of her. “Today marked ten years.”

Carol’s face softened.  _ Understandable this would be her least favorite thing to talk about.  _

“Do you have any siblings?”

“One older brother, Dennis. He has a wife and three children- a fourth on the way.” Sarah’s face lit up as she drifted away from the sad subject of her father’s death. “Dennis was twenty-eight when Dad got sick, and he’d already moved out, went to college, met and married Chrissie. They even had their first child...”

“So he didn’t see the decline.” Carol guessed. 

“Dad had a disease that had been dormant for a long time and once it began to show itself, it was only months before he was gone.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Sarah waved off the sympathy, giving a nervous laugh. “It’s not anyone’s fault. I just wanted you to know the story before you went with the assumption I was suicidal.”

Carol shrugged. What had she been supposed to think, seeing a weeping woman only a meter away from tumbling from a height of over thirty feet? 

“I really did see him- I know it sounds crazy.”

_ It doesn’t sound crazy, it sounds like magic.  _ Carol had briefly come into contact with many types of supernatural abilities- well, supernatural to humans, at least- over the course of the past few decades. Illusionary magic wasn’t unheard of, Carol didn’t think much would surprise her, at this point.  _ But if I’m right, then someone might have been trying to lure Sarah to walk over the edge without her knowing it. _

“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Carol reassured her. “But I would avoid following long-deceased relatives off a gap in scaffolding in the future.” 

Sarah laughed, her eyes twinkling. “I think I can probably manage that.” 

Carol returned the smile, and Sarah couldn’t help but notice how much it softened the entirety of the captain’s usually stern countenance. 

“Good.” 

* * *

_ “She’s still alive?”  _ The voice didn’t sound angry, only mildly surprised, but the man knew better than to be fooled. 

“That ‘Captain Marvel’ startled her out of my trance before she could be led over the edge.” 

_ “You know that fall wouldn’t have killed her.” _ The voice reasoned. 

“No,” The man agreed. “But it makes it easier for her death to appear as an accident. She falls while trying to fix her little machine, and goes into a coma. Even if she had been able to call herself an ambulance at that point, I would’ve been easily able to have her go into cardiac arrest on the ER table.”

_ “If your plan was so thorough,” _ The voice stated, too calmly.  _ “Then why does she still live?” _

The man didn’t want to admit he’d failed to consider the blonde newcomer. “I’ll take care of it.”

_ “Well, don’t hurry on my account.”  _ The voice drawled. _ “After all, it’s only a matter of time until she figures out the quantum mechanics for her teleportation device. She’ll get all the credit and you will get nothing.”  _

“It won’t come to that.” The man growled, raking a hand through his hair. “You said you were here to help me.” 

_ “Haven’t I? You are the most talented researcher on that team of yours...I’m only trying to help you reach your full potential.”  _ The voice seemed to come from all around the man, and he was unable to determine its source. _ “Your power was unstable when I found you. I taught you how to control it...What you do with it now is up to you...But you need only ask if you feel you really need my assistance.” _

“...I’ll see to it.” 

The voice didn’t respond, and the man suddenly felt very alone. 

He sighed. There was only one way to get the recognition he deserved for all the time and effort he put into this project. 

He wouldn’t fail. 

A shadow watched Eric Nevis’ face as the human’s expression morphed from slight disappointment at ‘the voice’s’ sudden departure to one of pure determination. 

Well, ‘ _ human’ _ may have not been the right word. He didn’t care to assign a particular name to the trash that  _ thing  _ was.

_ My darling Dahlia...I lost you because of them. _

His face hardened. All those with filthy blood, including the disillusioned Dr. Nevis, would be eradicated like the mistakes of nature they were. 

Nevis wouldn’t succeed in killing that girl right away, as the fool was adamant in killing her in the way she most feared, but he supposed they still had time. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have forever, or close to it. 

After all, Inhumans lived an inordinately long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not take credit for the Inhuman idea, as it belongs to Marvel!


	2. Learn to be Lonely

Over the next few weeks, between SHIELD missions and research, Carol and Sarah discovered that they had found something of a kindred spirit in each other. They had more in common than either had thought possible, but even when they weren’t talking, they were able to just enjoy each other’s company without the silence becoming awkward. 

After a half-hearted joke that Carol hadn’t had a chance yet to catch up on all the things she missed over the years Carol had been gone, Sarah had insisted that she help however she could. Carol didn’t know if it was really necessary for her to play ‘catch-up’; all she knew was that she relished any extra time she got to spend with Sarah. The scientist was quickly becoming one of Carol’s favorite people. 

Sarah, for her part, was conflicted about her growing feelings for the blonde Avenger. Unlike Carol, Sarah was not a risk taker. Not by a long shot. Carol was brash, bold, noble and confident to the point of arrogance. Not to mention unbelievably  _ strong.  _ Sarah shuddered just thinking of one time she had sought out Carol while on a break, finding her in the training room (where one could find the first Avenger most days when not on-mission) beating the crap out of the twenty highly experienced SHIELD agents, all without the use of her photon energy. 

Sarah had stopped dead at the sight of Carol in her natural state: adrenaline-infused, calm, focused. The captain’s incessant smirk had become a full-blown grin as she flipped and dodged out of the way of incoming attacks. 

Carol lived for this, the blank state of mind that only came when she was fighting. She wasn’t even going all-out on the humans, instead playing a game with herself to see how many she could take on  _ without _ drawing blood or breaking any bones. It had become too easy to simply blow enemies away. But even she wasn’t arrogant enough to actually  _ want  _ to have an enemy appear that would actually be a challenge for her. 

But the fight would never  _ not _ be interesting, at least. 

Now if only SHIELD had more agents she coul-

At the sight of Sarah’s awed face, Carol did something unheard of for her- she hesitated. Time seemed to slow and Carol found herself taking her first hit for quite some time. It didn’t hurt (SHIELD hadn’t gotten that far in its tech advancements yet, she thought with a grin), but it did send her flying into the wall due to the cybernetic enhancement armor that her opponents currently wore. Protection for them, more of a ‘challenge’ for her. 

Carol gave a full-bodied laugh at the hit. She sighed. “Nice.” She quirked an eyebrow at the leading SHIELD agent, O’Connell. “Don’t get used to it, though,  _ Squad Leader. _ ” 

O’Connell growled as the blonde lithely pulled herself out of the dent she’d made in the wall when she’d hit it and walked away from the group that had formed, giving a cheeky wink as she went. 

“Hey.”

Sarah couldn’t take her eyes off Carol as the blonde approached. Her mouth had gone dry and she couldn’t seem to control where her gaze wandered. Carol was wearing simple black tights and a form-fitting t-shirt that she had cut up for greater range of motion. Unfortunately for Sarah, this just made Carol’s golden, precisely-built shoulders and arms stand out in stark contrast to the dark grey top she was wearing. 

_ Oh, my. _

“Sarah?” 

Broken out of her stupor, Sarah suddenly was keen on focusing on anything  _ but  _ the goddess standing in front of her. 

“Hi...Sorry to interrupt.” 

Carol’s confused look vanished at the sight of the pretty blush that swept across Sarah’s face, and her perpetual amused smirk returned.

“We’re still on for tonight, right?”

“Oh!” Sarah’s eyes snapped to Carol’s, touching her glasses self-consciously. “That’s actually what I came to talk to you about. I’d just remembered that my brother and his wife had this dinner planned and I promised to babysit...”

Carol tilted her head. “How many kids did you say he had, again?” 

“Three.” 

“Well, we can take a rain check, no big deal.” Carol didn’t let her slight disappointment show on her face, unlike the woman across from her, she noticed. “Unless you’d like an extra set of hands? 

“You don’t have to do that!”

“Handling three kids by yourself sounds like a mess.”

“What? Oh, no!” Sarah assured emphatically. “They’re great kids.” Carol noted the softness that lingered in Sarah’s eyes as she spoke about her brother’s children.

She sensed there was still something Sarah had yet to say, but Carol chose to simply state the obvious. “You clearly adore them.”

“I really do.” Sarah replied with a bright smile, staring into Carol’s eyes. 

“I’ll see you at your brother’s house, then?”

_ What? _

“I mean, feel free to say ‘no’, but I was really looking forward to hanging out, and while I don’t mind a rain check, I don’t mind being around kids either.” Carol smiled as she shrugged. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

“Oh.” Sarah mentally smacked herself for such an eloquent response. She was so pleased with Carol’s offer, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. 

Thankfully, Carol was quite comfortable with leading. “Just text me the address and time.” Sometimes Sarah could kid herself that she was the only person in the world when Carol looked at her like that. 

“Yeah...”

Carol said her good-byes and turned to stride towards the showers. 

_ God, the view from the back is even worse-  _ Who was she kidding? Carol’s back was as beautifully sculpted as the rest of her. 

Sarah rolled her eyes at herself and tried not to swoon as she went back to work. 

* * *

“Hot date?”

Sarah froze at Eric’s voice behind her. It wasn’t that she disliked him, but she’d learned long ago to trust her first instincts about people. 

And something about Eric Nevis made her just plain nervous. 

“Oh.” Sarah did her best to not trip over her words at being put on the spot. “It’s not a date.” 

Eric didn’t look convinced. “She must be something special to make you leave before 7 at night.” 

“She is.” Sarah couldn’t believe the answer that just rolled off her tongue like it was the most natural thing in the world.  _ God, I must have it bad. Jesus.  _

Eric sneered her way as she gathered her things. She had just started to make her way to the door when he murmured, “Be careful on your date; no telling what kind of weirdos are out there.” 

Sarah suppressed a shiver as she nodded in Eric’s direction without making direct eye contact. She didn’t bother to correct him as she balanced her notes, keys and water bottle in her hands. Sarah exited the room, leaving Eric to stare after her. 

“Weirdos, indeed.”

* * *

“Thanks so much again for doing this.” 

“Hey, I said I would.” Sarah squeezed her sister-in-law’s shoulder. “You and the clown need to have a night out once in a while.” 

“ _ I heard that!”  _

Sarah rolled her eyes, picking up the dishes that she’d found in the dish rack to put away. “Can’t get anything by that one, seriously...Good thing you two rank pretty high on my list of favorite people.” She gave Chrissie a wink. 

“Well,  _ I  _ heard you met someone that might get to rank even higher than  _ moi.”  _

Sarah shot Chrissie a look. “You  _ didn’t.” _

The petite brunette had the grace to at least  _ look  _ sheepish. “I did, I’m sorry!”

She sure didn’t look sorry. 

“Wow.” 

“Don’t be mad-“ 

Sarah mock-glared. “Just for that, I’m giving the kids a handful of candy each the moment you text me you’re on your way home.” She flicked a finger between her brother and his wife. “That’ll teach you. You’ll be up  _ all night.” _

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Dennis quipped, grinning at Chrissie. “We don’t even need the kids for that.”

“ _ Oh my god!”  _

Both the women blushed, though for very different reasons.

A knock on the door saved Sarah from having to talk herself out of smacking her brother for being crass. 

“Get down here you guys, your parents are leaving!” 

She opened the door to be greeted by Carol’s strong back. The blonde seemed mesmerized by the setting sun, and it took her a moment to turn around. She was in her trademark jeans and t-shirt, wearing a brown leather jacket, her hands tucked into the pockets in a laid-back posture that still oozed confidence. 

“Hey.” Carol greeted in a manner that made Sarah melt with its sensual tone. Hearing that lower timbre made Sarah want to have the other woman recite the freaking dictionary if it meant that she could get more of that voice. Sarah wondered if Carol sang.

“Hi.” Sarah smiled bashfully, fiddling with her glasses.  _ God, I can feel myself blushing already. It might be permanent by the end of tonight... _

“Auntie Sarah!”

“ _ Sophie slow down!” _

Sarah turned just in time to catch a runaway 4-year-old on the side of her leg, sending her stumbling into Carol. 

Carol laughed and steadied the other woman, catching sight of the Williams family’s youngest member for the first time. 

Shy of strangers, just like her aunt, Sophie was a beautiful child with soft brown hair and clear hazel eyes. Sarah stooped to pick up the child and held her on her hip. 

Carol’s expression softened exponentially at the sight of the young child. The blonde moved a slightly closer to Sarah as she held the little girl, tilting her head to try to get in the child’s line of sight. 

“Hello.” Carol greeted with a gentle smile.

Little Sophie turned to glance bashfully at Carol before quickly burying her face in her aunt’s neck. 

Carol chuckled in amusement, glancing now into Sarah’s face as the other woman mouthed,  _ She’s shy. _

Carol nodded with a smile, mouthing back.  _ I got that part.  _

The older two of Dennis’ children followed Sophie down the stairs at a much more sedated pace. 

“Sarah, how rude!” Dennis called from behind his wife as they both entered the foyer. “Don’t bother inviting our guest in or anything.”

Sarah blushed. “Oh, Jesus.” 

Carol’s eyebrows lifted in silent laughter as she followed Sarah’s gesture to enter the house. 

“Dennis, Chrissie, this is Carol Danvers.” 

“Oh!” Chrissie gave Sarah a look. “ _ Captain Marvel. _ ”

Carol laughed as Sarah flushed again. “Just ‘Carol’ is fine.” She reached out to shake the couple’s hands. 

“A pleasure to meet you, Carol.” 

The blonde began chatting with Dennis about the beautiful structure of the house and Chrissie gave Sarah a look, pointing emphatically at Carol behind the woman’s back, fanning herself melodramatically. 

The message of  _ go, sis _ ! was not only blatant, but mortifying. 

Sarah almost regretted she was holding her youngest niece and was thus unable to bury her face in her hands out of embarrassment. 

“ _ So, _ what time was your reservation again?” 

“She’s right, we should probably get going, Dennis.”

Dennis gives her a look that clearly said  _ I know what you’re doing.  _

“You know, you’re absolutely right.”

Sarah released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she braced herself for her brother’s teasing. Carol held back a snort at the look on Sarah’s face; this kind of thing clearly happened a lot. 

“Well, it was  _ so nice  _ to meet you, Carol.” Chrissie said, all but shoving Dennis out the door after kissing each of her children on the head and telling them to behave. “You all have fun now!”

Sarah tried not to groan out loud in embarrassment as the door clicked shut. She rested her head against Sophie’s as the child played with her aunt’s hair.

* * *

“Well,  _ that _ was unexpected.”

“What?”

Chrissie glanced at her husband. “I just didn’t expect Carol to be so...”

“Just Sarah’s type but also the ‘complete opposite’ of her type?”

The small woman smiled fondly. “What Sarah wants is clearly not what she needs.”

Dennis nodded. They could definitely agree on that. 

“After what happened with Nora, I guess I can understand her not wanting to date someone that can bench a Tahoe.” Dennis growled at the memory of what that woman, Nora, had done to his baby sister. 

“A ‘ _ few dozen _ Tahoe’s’, if I’m remembering correctly how Sarah described Carol’s strength.”

Chrissie patted her normally-hyperactive spouse’s arm in consolation as they climbed into the car. 

“This woman could beat the shit out of Nora in two seconds flat.”

The brunette nodded.  _ No doubt.  _ Just thinking of the first (and only, thank God) time that Sarah had come to their home late at night with marks on her arms and a resigned, bone-weary expression. 

Sarah had stayed in the den that night, staying out of sight of the children because she ‘didn’t want to scare them’ with the angry bruise that adorned her pretty face.

Nora was a prominent MMA fighter that Sarah had dated for two years, but Sarah had never worried that Nora would ever raise a hand against her, despite the physicality and violence that was typical of Nora’s profession. 

The fighter traveled a great deal due to her international notoriety and had been faithful (at least as far as Sarah knew). Sarah had been heartbroken to learn how wrong she’d been about the woman she’d fallen so in love with. 

Chrissie simply couldn’t imagine it. Dennis was goofy, yes, but he was a loyal and devoted husband and father. He wasn’t perfect, granted, but Chrissie had never doubted whether she’d made the right choice in marrying him.

The object of her thoughts piped up with a silly grin on his face. 

“I can’t wait to rib my cute little sister for her cute little crush!” 

_ Good God.  _ She thought, rolling her eyes.  _ Case in point.  _

“Leave her alone, Jesus.” Chrissie said as she lightly smacked Dennis’ free arm that wasn’t steering. “It’s been months; she’s  _ allowed  _ to take an interest in someone new.”

“She certainly has a type, though, that’s for sure.”

What with all the travel, not to mention the fighter-mentality, Chrissie could definitely see an argument for that. 

_ But then again... _ “I don’t know,” She shrugged. “Carol seems to be worlds above Nora.” Chrissie wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought of the ex of the woman she had come to view as a sister. 

Dennis nodded, smiling in his usual easy going manner. He certainly hoped his wife was right, for his sister’s sake...   


* * *

“Okay,” Sarah turned around, and found Carol to already be shaking hands with the other two children they were now responsible for. “Kids, this is Carol.”

“Nice to meet you.” The eldest, Michael, responded first in his usual soft-spoken manner. He nodded to Carol. 

Karen, the middle child, said nothing, instead opting to stare down Carol with an intense expression. 

Sarah almost let out the laugh that had tried to make its way up her throat.  _ I wonder if I should tell her she’s trying to stare down one of the most powerful beings in existence.  _

Carol, for her part, offered her hand for Karen to shake and patiently waited for the girl to do something one way or the other. 

Karen’s brother elbowed her. “Don’t be rude, jeez.” 

Karen didn’t respond, just narrowed her eyes and ran off to the kitchen. 

Carol, unfazed, watched the child go. 

Michael shook his head as he followed after his headstrong sister. 

Sarah approached Carol, who immediately began making silly faces at Sophie, who had eyed Carol with renewed interest when the blonde’s back had been turned. 

“Sorry about Karen.” Sarah joined in on the silly faces and between the two of them had Sophie giggling within minutes. “She’s the hard one to crack.”

“Gosh, and here I was thinking that was you.” 

“I’m nothing compared to that one.” Sarah adored her niece, but it took Karen a bit to warm up to people.    
She told Carol as much.

“I’m not too worried.” Carol shrugged. “Teenagers are literally smaller adults. All they want is for someone to treat them that way.” 

Sarah couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard someone describe a child’s psyche that way. Others might say Carol thought that because she had no children of her own...but maybe that was why she had such an insight.

“Have you eaten yet?” Carol asked. 

Sarah shook her head. “I told Chrissie I’d handle making the kids’ dinner.” She started to walk to the kitchen, then remembered she still held Sophie. 

“I can take her.” Carol remarked, gesturing at little Sophie.

Sarah smiled and looked at the child.

“Is that okay with you?” Carol directed her gentle question at the 4-year-old, who now stared unabashedly at the blonde, shyness seemingly gone for the moment. Carol held her arms out to indicate what she meant to the child. 

Sophie didn’t hesitate and released Sarah’s neck to grasp the collar of Carol’s brown leather jacket. 

“C’mon.” Carol murmured to the little girl, exhaling playfully as if the child were heavy, earning a laugh from Sarah. Sophie continued to intensely stare at Carol, cocking her head curiously.

“She likes you.” 

Carol smiled and turned to say something back when a pair of eyes just around the corner caught her attention. Karen stared at her, not maliciously, but almost with curiosity as she watched her baby sister cuddle up to the newcomer. Carol cocked her head at the girl, but Karen averted her gaze and disappeared. 

The blonde grinned, turning to Sarah. “Does she like to color? Any crayons around?”

Sarah had to shake herself out of the daze she’d fallen into, seeing the most powerful woman on the planet gently carrying her niece. “What? Oh, yeah! There’s some in the kitchen, here...”

The redhead handed the box to Carol, who still held Sophie in one arm, bouncing her lightly, making the preschooler giggle. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with her?”

Carol looked mildly perplexed but gave her signature crooked smile. 

“Hey. Extra set of hands, remember?” She motioned to said currently-occupied hands. “Whatever you need.”

Sarah felt her heart melt a little as she sighed. “Thank you.”

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to be.” Carol joked.

Scoffing, Sarah turned towards the refrigerator. “You’re Captain Marvel, I’m sure there’s someplace you  _ could  _ be.”

Carol paused where she was setting down Sophie at the kitchen table, handing the crayons to the 4-year-old. 

She turned to look at Sarah and stared at her for a long moment.

“Let me clarify: no place I’d  _ rather  _ be.” The blonde answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sarah thought her face would implode with all the extra heat that rushed to it. She gave a shy smile and turned away quickly, making Carol huff a soft laugh in amusement. 

Carol settled with Sophie in the living room while Sarah cooked dinner, and Michael found Sarah in the kitchen a half-hour later. 

“Aunt Sarah? Could you help me with my role later?”

“Your practices are Thursday’s after school, right?”

Michael nodded. “I just want to be ready.”

Sarah smiled softly. “You will be. It’s a silent role, but that’s all the more reason why practicing in front of an audience is so important.” She continued to stir the cooking wine into the ground beef, onions and garlic that she was sauteing into the pan so the alcohol had a chance to evaporate. “Your gestures and expressions will be scrutinized more because there are no words to distract them. Emily is singing for you right?”

The brunette nodded again. 

Carol chimed in, guessing from the context. “You’re in a play, Michael?”

The boy nodded quietly. “It’s just a small role.” 

“Which one?”

“I’ll give you a hint,” Sarah teased. “It takes place in an opera house.”

The edges of the blonde’s eyes crinkled slightly as she grinned. “Nice.”

“I had no idea you were into musicals.”

“I dabbled.” The blonde chuckled. “I’m no expert but I can hold a conversation.” She turned back to Michael. “Which role is it?”

“The musical director is tweaking the original script a bit to fit her own style. It’s just one scene that I’m supposed to be portraying a young Erik.” 

Carol cocked her head. “That’s...ambitious of her.” 

“The director is one of my old friends from college,” Sarah explained as she let the can opener do its work on various tomato canisters. “When she told me she needed a boy around ten that had an interest in playing Erik, I immediately thought of Michael.” 

The blonde hummed, impressed at the boy for wanting to overcome his quiet nature with something as extroverted as acting. 

“This will need to stew a while.” Sarah turned down the heat on the stove to low before she turned to Carol and the children. “Want to nab your sister from her room or wherever she is?”

“I’m right here.” Carol looked up at the unfamiliar voice. The brunette teenager stood by the kitchen entrance. 

“How about we all go watch a movie until it’s done and we can eat by the TV, huh?” 

The kids’ eyes lit up collectively. Carol saw this out of the corner of her eye and smirked. 

_ I knew that’d get ‘em. _

“Just don’t tell your mom, huh?” She winked, laughing. “And we can all watch Michael practice his part afterwards, yeah?”

Michael beamed, while Karen just nodded. 

“Then I guess I’ll take  _ this little monster! _ ” Carol growled playfully at the youngest child, making Sophie squeal with delight as the blonde plucked her from her chair and lightly tossed her up in the air, catching her a second later as if the preschooler weighed nothing.

Sophie giggled joyfully as the pair made their way towards the living room. Karen followed as Michael excused himself, to change so he wouldn’t have to wait to get ‘into character’ the minute the movie ended. 

Carol ‘flew’ Sophie to the couch, where she ‘landed’ her ‘plane’ by sliding Sophie on her front along the couch cushions. 

Once Sophie was near the end of the couch, Carol proceeded to tickle her mercilessly until the 4-year-old was shrieking with laughter. 

“You little wriggler, you!” Carol cooed at the child as she watched the expression of joy on Sophie’s face. 

“What’re your intentions with my aunt?”

Carol paused in her tickle assault, allowing Sophie to catch her breath. The hybrid looked up, smiling, at the human that loomed over her. 

“I said-” 

Carol chuckled. “I heard you.” She gave Sophie one last joking tickle before standing up, still looking down at the younger girl. “Was just trying to figure out what you meant by ‘intentions’.”

“You clearly like her.”

The blonde cocked her head as she moved towards the kitchen to grab Sophie’s coloring. 

“I do like her.” She stated unceremoniously as she returned a moment later. 

Karen seemed shocked at the total lack of denial. 

Carol smirked. “I’m assuming you meant in the biblical sense.”

The teen nodded tentatively. She’d clearly expected Carol to get defensive about her feelings. 

“I wouldn’t worry, though.” Carol shrugged. “I’m not trying to steal her away or anything; I don’t get the feeling she’s interested in me that way.”

“She’s interested.” Karen deadpanned.

“Oh?” 

“I can tell.” Karen glared. Her parents thought she didn’t know about her aunt’s jerkoff ex...What she’d done to her sweet aunt. “And I don’t want to see her hurt again.”

“Again?” Just like that, the captain’s levity evaporated. The stern, intimidating, militant expression appeared in its place, unbidden. 

Karen stared as the newcomer’s body language shifted from relaxed and laid-back to seemingly readying for a fight; hands clutched at her sides and her stance wider than it had been before. 

“When was this?” Carol tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to keep the growl from her voice. 

“...A few months ago.”

It took her a moment, but Carol finally seemed to realize the amount of anger she was giving off and forced herself to calm. She glanced at the doorway that led to the kitchen. 

“Whatever happened between your aunt and her ex is her business. If she wants me to know about it, I trust her to tell me.” Her face softened. “What’s important to her is important to me; I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt her. Emotionally or physically.”

The teenager stared hard into Carol’s eyes, seemingly having an internal debate on whether or not to trust her.

“But to answer your original question,” Carol continued as if she didn’t care whether or not Karen believed her last statement or not. “We’re just friends. She hasn’t given me any indication she wants to be anything else.”

“Then you’re dumber than you look.” Karen sniped. 

Carol wasn’t sure how to respond to that. So she said nothing and grinned instead, displaying her amusement at the girl’s toughness. 

_ She reminds me a lot of myself at her age.  _ She thought.  _ Headstrong and fearless.  _

Karen turned, implying she intended to head back to the kitchen, but then she stopped. 

“...But you don’t seem so bad.”

The blonde had just opened her mouth to respond when Sarah entered the room, seemingly picking up on the residual tension in the room between her friend and her eldest niece. 

“Everything okay in here?” Sarah inquired, eyebrows raised. 

“Yeah,” Karen said before Carol could speak. “We’re good.” She threw a small smile Carol’s way as she walked away, and into the kitchen. 

“There anything else to bring out?”

Sarah tilted her head at Carol, who shrugged. 

The redhead felt slightly confused, as if she’d missed something. 

_ Just my imagination, I guess.  _

* * *

Scott and Ramona disappeared into the white door framed by the sunset in the background and the credits began to roll. 

Sarah looked amused at the varying expressions of the people who occupied the room. Michael looked entertained, Karen looked beyond bored, Carol looked confused as all hell, and Sophie wasn’t even paying attention to the movie, having lost interest in the plot long ago and was playing on the floor next to where Michael was sitting. 

The redhead held back a snorted laugh at Carol’s befuddled expression. She knew how to fly highly advanced spaceships (not to mention  _ through  _ them), but the sense behind a modern cult classic seemed to fly right over her head.

Nigel Godrich began to play as the credits rolled and Sarah began to collect the plates and utensils, Carol following shortly after. Michael buzzed with energy as he also helped his aunt. By his thinking, the quicker clean-up was done, the quicker he could get his practice in. 

Carol wiped down the coffee table and the stands that framed the couch before settling on the couch, with Sarah on the other side. 

Karen sat on the couch between the two and Sophie scrambled up to cuddle with her big sister. 

“Ready?”

Sarah looked at Michael. 

The boy nodded and set for his scene. 

Sarah played the instrumental from her phone so it would be as realistic as possible for her nephew. 

When Carol heard the first few notes ring out from Sarah’s phone, she just assumed that would be the entirety of the accompaniment. 

Imagine her surprise when Sarah’s voice filled the room, gentle but strong.

_ Child of the wilderness _

_ Born into emptiness _

_ Learn to be lonely _

_ Learn to find your way your way in darkness _

_ Who will be there for you? _

_ Comfort and care for you? _

_ Learn to be lonely _

_ Learn to be your one companion _

Michael’s movements and expressions were contorted and melancholy. Carol could clearly see the idealism that was the trademark of an innocent child being stripped away bit by bit, due to the cruelty that Erik had endured simply because of the way he looked. Sophie, of course, was only fascinated by the simple beauty of her aunt’s voice and the complexity of her brother’s performance. 

_ Never dreamed out in the world _

_ There are arms to hold you _

_ You've always known _

_ Your heart was on its own _

Carol was amazed at the emotion that Sarah was able to convey with her voice alone. Passionate and controlled, it would be easy to just be able to string notes together in a certain sequence. But to pour so much sentiment into a song while performing it...That was what true vocal talent meant. 

Sure, Carol couldn’t deny this was nowhere near her usual type of music, but she’d listen to this genre all day long if Sarah were the vocalist. 

_ So laugh in your loneliness _

_ Child of the wilderness _

_ Learn to be lonely _

_ Learn how to love life that is lived alone _

_ Learn to be lonely _

_ Life can be lived _

_ Life can be loved _

_ Alone _

As Michael’s scene and Sarah’s song came to an end, silence reigned in the room after the final notes rang out. 

Sarah spoke first, addressing Michael. 

“That was very good.” Her eyes shone with pride. “Very  _ you. _ ” 

Michael looked very pleased with his aunt’s praise. His sisters agreed with Sarah’s compliment, though Karen was understandably a bit quieter about telling Michael how ‘ _ amazing _ ’ he is. 

Carol knew Karen was watching her shrewdly from the corner of her eye, but she found she couldn’t force her gaze away from the other woman that was currently stroking Sophie’s hair while giving minor critiques to Michael. She seemed to realize the intensity with which she was being scrutinized, and looked over to meet a pair of amazed, sparkling brown eyes. 

“So what’d you think, Carol?” Karen asked innocently. 

Carol could think of nothing better to say. “Wow.” 

Karen rolled her eyes, but Carol just grinned, completely unconcerned with her total lack of eloquence. 

Sarah blushed prettily at the flattering remark, and reached to move her already-comfortably-placed glasses up her nose. Though thoroughly amused, suddenly Carol remembered who the whole thing had been to showcase in the first place. 

“I think you have a real future in the theater there, kid.”

“Thanks.” Michael turned to Sarah. “Aunt Sarah taught me everything I know.” 

“Not  _ everything. _ ” Sarah looked sheepishly at Carol, who raised her brows in curiosity at the redhead. “I took a few theatre electives in college.” 

The redhead looked away shyly at Carols continued- and unabashed- staring. 

“Well, this has been  _ fun, _ ” Karen drawled, hauling herself off the couch. “But I think I’ll be heading to bed.”

Sarah held back a chuckle. She knew better than to think Karen would be sleeping. ‘Going to bed’ was more like code for late night studying. They bid each other good-night and the eldest child made her trek up the stairs. Michael settled in with Sophie to entertain her while Carol and Sarah tackled the dishes. 

* * *

“They’re good kids.”

Carol and Sarah stood in the doorway that connected the living room to the kitchen. The two of them had finished washing the dishes and what they couldn’t fit on the drying rack was dried by hand and put away. 

Sarah sighed, watching Michael playing with his little sister, just quietly coloring like two peas in a pod. “They really are...”

_ God, babysitting always makes me think of the day I’ll have kids of my own... _

Carol considered the woman in front of her, who was clearly lost in thought. She didn’t know how to feel about the tightness that kept appearing inside her chest. Her nearly-indestructible body didn’t just forget that it needed oxygen. Sarah was kind, smart, good with kids, had a beautiful singing voice...not to mention she was a great cook. But Carol wanted to know everything about her, ask her everything and anything. Not that Carol was an expert, but she was fairly certain she wasn’t in love with Sarah...yet. Everything she learned about Sarah just made the gravitational pull that Carol felt to her even stronger, like the earth moving around the sun. 

But the captain couldn’t see the ‘falling’ concept being so far in the future, if they gave this a shot. 

_ And I so want to give this a shot.  _

Carol wasn’t worried about rejection based on lack of reciprocated feelings, per say. Sarah had more than proven she had an at least unconscious attraction to Carol (she wasn’t that oblivious). But Sarah was shy and reserved by nature, among those who didn’t know her well...

Carol wanted to be the one who knew Sarah  _ best.  _

And seeing her with those kids...

“You’d make a great mother.” The words had slipped past her lips before she could consider whether or not that would be the right way to enter this conversation. 

Not that she often thought before she acted. 

Sarah looked up in shock, but Carol could tell she was flattered by the light blush that dusted her cheeks. 

“Thank you...” She nodded to the children in the living room, keeping her voice soft. “I hope I can have a few of my own one day...” Sarah laughed self-consciously. “Need to find someone to do it with, first, though. ”

Carol knew that was not an invitation, so she just spoke what was on her mind. 

But she still couldn’t help that her gaze had strayed to Sarah’s lips, couldn’t force it away. 

“I can’t imagine it’ll be that hard for you.” The captain murmured, still staring at Sarah’s mouth.

The redhead looked into Carol’s face, alternating from the blonde’s lowered eyes to her lips, seeing the almost dazed look and felt herself leaning forward ever so slightly. It would be so easy to- 

Suddenly all the reasons this was a bad idea flooded back into Sarah’s mind and she forced herself back. She almost didn’t catch the slight gasp that left Carol’s beautiful mouth at her unexpected withdrawal. 

The captain took a deep breath, and tried to explain her feelings.  _ Uncharacteristically.  _ “Sarah, listen.” She stepped forward, and slowly took Sarah’s hands, giving the other woman plenty of time to pull away. “I like you.  _ A lot. _ ” 

Sarah felt like all the air was being sucked from her chest at the declaration. She’d hoped, but she still wished that Carol hadn’t said anything. 

“But I understand that getting into another relationship so soon-”

_ Wait, what?  _

The scientist started. “How did you know I got out of a relationship recently?”

Carol pointed above their heads where Karen was presumably in her room. “Karen mentioned your ex-”

“ _ My ex? _ ” Sarah sputtered, mortified. “Wha-What did she say?”

The Kree-human hybrid paused, not considering for a moment not telling her the truth, but trying to decide how to phrase it. 

She chose to be blunt as always. “She implied that they-” Carol’s gaze flicked up to meet Sarah’s. “Hurt you.”

_ Hurt me?  _ Sarah could feel the blood drain from her face as the memories poured over her. She took a few steps back into the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive gesture. Carol followed, and softly shut the door behind her, so as not to disturb the children. 

“Hurt me  _ how? _ ” 

Carol’s jaw tightened. “She didn’t confirm what your face just did.” She lifted a hand to gently brush her fingers against Sarah’s cheek. “Sorry, starlight; you’re an open book.”

The redhead jerked away. “ _ That story  _ is-” She took a breath and tried to not overreact. “Not my brother’s business, and certainly not his childrens'.”

Carol held up her hands. “And it’s not my business either, but-”

“I can’t do that alone, you know?” 

The captain started, bewildered. 

“You see those kids?” Sarah jabbed a finger towards the door. “I want that someday. And I couldn’t do that by myself- raise children by myself.”

Rendered speechless, Carol simply stood and waited to hear what Sarah had to say. 

“I don’t think that it’s fair to do that to a kid if you can help it.” Sarah waved her hands as she spoke. “And as noble and brave as your job is, as much as you sacrifice for it...” The hands that she’d been using to gesticulate her point dropped. “It would take you away from me- from any child we’d have.”

_ Carol must think I’m a complete lunatic, jumping so far ahead like this. _

“And as awe-inspiring as your power is, it-” Sarah stopped, unable to say any more. 

_ But it’s not really my power, is it?  _ Carol realized.  _ It’s my physical strength. Jesus, I’m an idiot. _

So Carol did what made her most comfortable when she was feeling uncomfortable; she played the levity card. “Isn’t power play and having kids  _ at least _ second date material?”

Sarah couldn’t believe this. “I can’t believe you’re joking abou-”

Her shoulders were suddenly held lightly by two calloused palms. “Hey, it’s okay.”

_ Okay? _

“What I was trying to say-” Carol’s lips quirked upwards, conveying her amusement at the fact that Sarah had never allowed Carol to finish her initial thought. “Is that I understand all of that.”

The scientist couldn’t have been more shocked. 

“I just wanted you to know,” Carol said softly, brushing her hands down Sarah’s arms to take her hands once again. “That I like you. That’s all. I’m not trying  _ for  _ anything. I just enjoy being around you, while I’m able to. So if you’re fine with staying friends...?”

Sarah gave a shaky nod. 

Carol nodded in kind. “And if - _ if - _ you ever decided you wanted- ” She shrugged one shoulder. “ _ More, _ I’m here. For you.”

“I-uh.” 

Even if she didn’t have her military training always in the back of her mind, Carol would recognize the moment for a strategic retreat when she saw it. 

“I’m going to go check on those two.” As she neared the door, she stopped and looked back. “Don’t worry about anything, okay?” She laughed. “You’re not going to hurt my feelings. Just be yourself. I’ll be whatever you need me to be.” 

With that, Carol shot her one last friendly smile and exited the kitchen. 

Sarah leaned against the counter and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. 

* * *

Michael headed upstairs a few minutes after Carol joined them in the living room. The blonde thought it might be a good chance to give the scientist her space. There were a lot of emotions running high in that kitchen, and Carol wasn’t sure she was ready for that quite yet. 

She was so used to having anger and aggression being the things that made her a better fighter, despite what Yon-Rogg had always told her. 

_ “There’s nothing more dangerous to a warrior than emotion.” _

Figures it would be  _ now  _ that she would finally start to see what he meant. 

_ Well, things could be worse.  _ Carol reasoned as she held the preschooler in one arm on the couch, patiently letting the preschooler yank on her hair, trying to braid it (Carol assumed). The child had suddenly grown an unnatural fixation with the short blonde strands. It wasn’t like it hurt at all, she thought. The absolute worst that could happen is she had a bed head before bed. 

Carol lay on her side on the couch, keeping a careful hand on the child’s back, just in case, and closed her eyes, letting her mind wander. 

“You two are just too much.” A laughing voice remarked from the doorway. 

Carol looked up to a welcome sight: an amused, smiling Sarah holding two wine glasses in her hands. 

“Perfect timing.” Carol teased. “Saaaave meeee!” She wailed dramatically, groaning in mock-suffering.

“No, I’m braiding your hair!” Sophie argued. 

“You are! Wow!” Sarah encouraged the child, laughing at Carol’s ‘distress’. 

“But I’m so tiiired. I just wanna go to sleep.” Carol made exaggerated snoring noises as if she were sleeping.

“You can’t go to sleep, I haven’t finished your hair yet!” 

Carol continued snoring.

“You’re not really asleep!” Sophie squealed. 

The blonde snapped her head back up playfully. “Then you better hurry up if you want me to see it before bedtime.”

Seeing Sophie focus so hard on her task made both the adults hold back their laughter, especially once they saw the child’s eyelids start to droop. Sarah gently coached the 4-year old after she asked if ‘this is good?’. Eventually there was something that resembled a braid in Carol’s short hair, and Sophie had fallen asleep on Carol’s back. 

The blonde chuckled and turned slowly after wrapping her arm securely around the sweet little girl. She sat up and placed the child on her lap, not even touching her hair. 

Sarah couldn’t hold back her humor any more. She gave an unladylike snort at the bird’s nest that Sophie had made out of the formidable woman’s hair. 

_ Looks like someone’s feeling better.  _ Carol thought happily. 

“Hey, I told you to save me.” She sighed ‘tiredly’. 

“Please. A preschooler wearing out the great Captain Marvel?”

“Thanos didn’t even put a scratch on me.” Carol chuckled. “Maybe I’ve finally met my match.” 

Sarah made no move to take Sophie, instead enjoying the picture that Carol made with a small child in her arms. 

“You’ve clearly done this before.”

“Monica and I used to play all the time when she was a little kid.” Her eyes softened at the thought of her godchild. “Maria made me her godmother when she was born. Being here reminds me of times like that.”

“Where is she now?”

“Monica? She’s a few years older than you, actually.” Carol grinned widely at Sarah’s shocked expression. “She works for SWORD.” 

“Really?” It was quite a thing to learn that a woman that barely appeared older than Sarah also had a goddaughter that was older than her by several years, at least. She shook her head and pondered Carol as the blonde went back to stroking Sophie’s hair. Carol glanced up a few moments later, feeling Sarah’s eyes on her. 

“What?” Carol cocked her head. 

“Nothing.” Sarah denied. “I’m...sorry about reacting the way I did earlier.” 

Carol shrugged. “I just didn’t want you to think I was pressuring you at all.” 

“I never thought you were.” Sarah sighed. “It’s just...been so long since I considered a closer relationship with anyone.”

“I understand.”  _ I really do.  _

“Anyway.” Sarah offered the spare glass of wine that was still sitting on the coffee table to Carol, signaling she was about to change the subject. “This is only my first glass, so don’t worry.” She gestured to her own glass. 

“I don’t.”

Sarah was confused. “You don’t drink?”

Carol laughed. “I don’t  _ worry _ about you abusing alcohol.” She plucked her glass from Sarah’s hand. “But I will take that, thank you.”

“It’s not even enough to really relax but I thought it was the least I could do...”

The blonde sipped the wine, but snorted through it at Sarah’s statement. “A metabolism as fast as mine doesn’t make it easy to get drunk.” She sipped again thoughtfully. “Not that I can remember the last time I wanted to.”

The scientist hummed. They sat in comfortable silence, watching the child sleep and nursing their wine slowly. 

“So what did you do before?” 

“Before what?”

“Michael hinted that you weren’t always a science major.” 

Sarah smiled. “What, a quantum physics major can’t have artistic electives?”

“I wouldn’t think they usually do, no.” Carol smiled jokingly.

“Alright, fine, you win.” Shrugging, Sarah lifted her glass to her lips. “I was a dance major.”

“Dance.” Carol responded, astonished. “For real?”

“For real.” Sarah smiled. “I was something of a prodigy.”

“Not to pat yourself on the back or anything.”

“No, really!” Giggling, Sarah continued. “I’d done two full years of my degree at the time. Got placed in accelerated courses and everything.”

_ Then how did she end up here? _

Carol watched as the scientist’s smile faded, her mind seeming far away as she took a mouthful of wine. 

“I-uhm. Got hurt.” She spoke as if she were re-living the whole thing in her head. 

“How?”

“I’ve analyzed that moment a million times.” She shrugged. “I didn’t spin fast enough when I jumped, didn’t jump high enough.” Another sip from her glass. “I didn’t exactly set my partner up for success.” 

“He  _ dropped  _ you?”

“It happens.” The redhead defended her past partner. He’d been such a sweet guy, though, according to their instructor, ‘nowhere near’ a match for her. “We’re taught to fall in a way that doesn’t cause injury. So, if anything, my getting injured was my own fault.”

_ God. _

“I’m so sorry.” Carol didn’t touch her, but Sarah felt her sympathy just the same. 

“I moved on from it. I was able to walk again, run again.” Her lips quirked. “I took up physics as my major even though it had really just been a fascination with the stars at that point. I started taking theatre electives just to keep the memory of what I’d lost alive.”

“Sounds like self-inflicted torture.”

“It wasn’t so bad. I can still dance, just not professionally.”

“I can’t imagine...” Carol raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “That’s like if I’d suddenly gone color blind when I was still doing test flights for the Air Force.” She thought for a moment, then said wistfully, “I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t been able to fly.”

Sarah’s eyes twinkled. “I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t gotten hurt.” She smiled at Carol, still sitting contently with Sophie. “I mean, I wouldn’t have met you.”

Carol hummed. Here she was, one of the most invulnerable creatures in the universe, and she was impressed by the resilience of one human woman. 

They sat in an unexpectedly comfortable silence as they finished the rest of their respective drinks. 

Carol’s face suddenly morphed into an  _ aha!  _ expression as she threw the hand that was not holding the wine glass up in the air. “That’s what we should do.” 

Sarah raised her brows.

“Karaoke!” Carol’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and not a little bit of mischief. “I know this great place that Maria and I went to when we visited New York back in the day.”

The redhead snorted a laugh. “You sure it hasn’t turned to dust by now? That sounds like an awful long time, Carol.”

“Psh.” Carol waved off the sarcasm. “That place is awesome, it’s definitely still open. Tuesday?”

“I-” Sarah couldn’t think of any reason not to go...other than her introverted self screaming at her to slam on the brakes here. She gave a resigned, if pleased, smile. “Sure, sounds good.” 

_ Keep it casual.  _ She thought to herself. A part of her felt dejected that she’d shut Carol down so quickly but she knew her reasons were valid.  _ At least, that’s what I have to keep telling myself.  _

She had been in similar situations before, where someone she had been ‘seeing’ (not officially dating, only meeting them once or twice) having unrequited feelings that she had to explain her feelings (or lack thereof) to said person...It never went well. Sarah could understand why people might get upset at someone not feeling the same way, but they always got really angry with her for ‘friendzoning’ them. Carol had done the exact opposite, and hadn’t even gone calm in a passive-aggressive sort of way.

The problem with her was, the captain’s feelings weren’t one-sided. _ Quite the opposite.  _

“Sarah?”

Her gaze shot over from where she’d been looking off into space and saw Carol giving her a soft look. 

“I asked if you’re good here.” She gestured to her now-empty glass. “I’m about to head out.”

“Oh! Right, sorry.” Sarah made to stand slowly. Carefully shifting 40-odd pounds of sleeping preschooler was nothing to sneeze at, and Sarah felt a pair of arms much stronger than hers wrap around Sophie to effortlessly lift her without jostling the child a bit. Carol nodded to the stairs, and Sarah took the hint to lead the way to Sophie’s bedroom.

After the child was tucked away, the adults made their way back down the stairs, Carol gesturing for Sarah to precede her.

“Thanks so much for coming tonight.” Sarah fiddled with her glasses. “You were such a big help.”

“Just tagging along.” Carol shot her a lopsided grin as she led the way out the front door. “I’m sure that was nothing you hadn’t done before.”   
The scientist nodded. “And I’m sorry about-”

Carol held up a hand. “Sarah, you’re entitled to feel however you want about anything and anyone.” Her lips quirked. “Which includes me. It’s probably for the best anyway, right? You never know when I could get called away on a moment’s notice.” She looked to the sky as if to drive home her point.

“Right...” Sarah let out a breath. 

“We can handle being friends, right?” Carol teased. 

Sarah rolled her eyes. “I can if you can.”

The blonde shrugged, grinning. “I’ll see you Tuesday, then. ‘Night.”

“Goodnight, Carol.” Sarah whispered, watching as the blonde lit up like a star and soared away into the night sky.

She groaned. 

_ I am in so much trouble here. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 knocked out whoop!   
> Anyone catch my Scott Pilgrim reference? Thought I’d add a hint to my SLIGHT obsession Brie Larson in there (as if it weren’t already obvious given I’m writing a whole fanfic on her haha also the word ‘slight’ might be the understatement of the year).


	3. You're a Fine Girl

_ Maybe this was a bad idea. _

Sarah’s eyes darted back and forth in the hole-in-the-wall biker bar that Carol had taken them to. The redhead had once again refused to let Carol whisk them away into the sky, and insisted on driving, ignoring Carol’s playful whine behind her,  _ “What, don’t you trust me?” _

It wasn’t about trust, she told herself. Being nervous about heights was a perfectly normal and valid concern, she thought. Though as a physicist, you would think that she’d have gotten over her apprehension about being up off the ground, considering more than a handful of things she currently studied for a living circled above her head.

_ True, but I’m happy studying them from the ground, thank you. _

Sometimes she thought that facing things that scared her would be good for her. Immersion therapy was scientifically proven to be very effective. 

Take this situation, for example. If it were left up to her, she’d spend her nights off curling up on her couch and reading, or hanging out with the kids at her brother’s home. 

Yet here she was, in a  _ biker bar _ , completely out of her element and tip-toeing like she was a bird in a room full of cats. 

“Don’t look so scared.” Carol snickered teasingly, bumping her shoulder playfully as she sidled up next to her. “You had to have gotten used to people staring at you when you were a performing arts major.” 

“I was very aware of how good a dancer I was.” Her statement was blunt; the simple truth. 

“You’re a good singer too.” The blonde, in complete contrast with the other woman beside her, strode with a self-assurance that was both mind-bogglingly infuriating and stunningly attractive. Carol swept over to the bar with the relaxed ambling gait that made her look more like a jungle cat than the half-human, half-Kree hybrid that she was. She glanced back at Sarah, who had yet to follow, she’d been staring for so embarrassingly long. “You have no reason to be nervous.”

Sarah followed to stand beside as Carol ordered a glass of wine for Sarah and a beer for herself. “My voice isn’t exactly pop-culture material.”

The captain couldn’t argue with that, but she didn’t think of it as a bad thing. Sarah’s voice was more reminiscent of tinkling bells, high and pure, rather than the smoky, whiskey-like tone that often seemed typical of today’s popular artists. 

“And that’s why we’ll be singing together.” 

Sarah cocked her head in confusion, not sure how that could help. 

Carol laughed and took pity on her. “I’ll take the parts you can’t.”

The blonde gave her a quick smile and turned back to the bartender that had placed their drinks on the bar between them. Carol opened a tab and they wandered over to a vacant table, chatting until Sarah had picked them out their song (ever the gentlewoman, Carol allowed Sarah to pick their duet). 

Still, when Carol saw the title of the song, she had to force a smile at the redhead as she agreed, though it quickly faded as Sarah turned away. Sure, she knew the words. Damn well. That wasn’t the problem. 

But it hurt her heart to think of why Sarah chose to sing that particular song. 

As much as Sarah typically dreaded social interaction, she still loved watching people have fun from afar. Sure, her ears were ringing after a handful of singers had finished their turn, but she almost couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much. 

‘Almost’ being the operative word. Sarah was well aware that any time she spent with Carol Danvers always ended up with the redhead with aching facial muscles at the end of it, due to all the smiling and laughing.

The more time she spent with Carol, the more Sarah wanted her to stay. 

Sarah was torn between thinking about her growing feelings for the first Avenger and fighting the nervousness that twisted in her stomach as she thought about their upcoming duet. 

She knew her feelings about her’s and Carol’s situation were to be made abundantly clear (if they hadn’t been already) with her song choice.

Finally, they were called up to the small stage, with Carol leading the way, turning once she got there to offer a hand to the shyly following redhead behind her. 

Sarah tried not to blush as she took Carol’s hand, the confident blonde standing tall beside her as they took their microphones from the host’s hand. 

“You go high, I’ll go low?” Carol’s lips were quirked in that self-assured way she had as she whispered in Sarah’s ear to be heard over the first notes of their song came over the speakers. 

Sarah nodded and shivered at the feel of Carol’s breath swept across her neck. 

_ There's a port on a western bay _

_ And it serves a hundred ships a day _

_ Lonely sailors pass the time away _

_ And talk about their homes _

Carol watched in amusement as the vast majority of the bar’s patrons turned to look at where the angelic voice was coming from. A full octave above the original recording, Sarah’s voice was high and feminine, a stark contrast to Elliot Lurie’s.

_ And there's a girl in this harbor town _

_ And she works layin' whiskey down _

_ They say, Brandy, fetch another round _

_ She serves them whiskey and wine _

Sarah’s shyness quickly evaporated as she sang the first verse. The captain was transfixed, and they shared a look as the chorus began and Carol took over, an octave lower, but no less strong than Sarah’s.

_ The sailors say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl) _

_ "What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl) _

_ "Yeah, your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea" _

The scientist realized that this was the first time she’d heard Carol’s singing voice, though she would be lying if she said she hadn’t imagined it before. 

_ Brandy wears a braided chain _

_ Made of finest silver from the North of Spain _

_ A locket that bears the name _

_ Of the man that Brandy loved _

_ He came on a summer's day _

_ Bringin' gifts from far away _

_ But he made it clear he couldn't stay _

_ No harbor was his home _

Sarah tried not to look at Carol through the second verse. She was sure Carol was smart enough to pick up on the symbolism here, and she was slightly embarrassed at her whimsical choice of song in hindsight.

_ The sailor said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl) _

_ "What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl) _

_ "But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea" _

Unaware of the exact content of Sarah’s thoughts, Carol was sure she could guess the general idea. Sarah stole glances at her throughout her part, and Carol’s eyes softened at the uneasy energy she was feeling from the smaller woman. 

Carol didn’t hesitate in taking her hand in comfort, nodding as she squeezed it. She hoped that her gaze conveyed the solace she wanted to give Sarah from the woman’s conflicted emotions. 

Sarah looked up and into Carol’s soft brown gaze at the touch of her hand. She knew Carol well enough by now that she would never do something to purposefully humiliate her, and that the taller blonde only wanted to console and soothe Sarah’s worries. 

The redhead smiled in gratitude as she and Carol alternated the lyrics of the bridge. 

_ Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes _

_ When he told his sailor stories _

_ She could feel the ocean fall and rise _

_ She saw its ragin' glory _

_ But he had always told the truth, Lord, he was an honest man _

_ And Brandy does her best to understand _

_ At night when the bars close down _

_ Brandy walks through a silent town _

_ And loves a man who's not around _

_ She still can hear him say _

They took the last chorus together, Sarah harmonizing beautifully with Carol’s lower tone.

_ She hears him say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl) _

_ "What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl) _

_ "But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea" _

_ It is, yes it is _

_ He said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl" (you're a fine girl) _

_ "What a good wife you would be" (such a fine girl) _

_ "But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea" _

  
The two women beamed at each other, Sarah ducking her head slightly as she heard the applause from the other patrons. People usually ignored the karaoke singers, in her experience. Guess there was a first time for everything. 

Carol helped the other woman off the stage, steadying her when Sarah slipped in her heels from someone’s spilt drink. Sarah’s arms wrapped around Carol’s neck out of instinct and they looked sheepishly into each other’s eyes. 

The blonde laughed as the smaller woman quickly untangled herself at the shrill sound of a wolf whistle from the other end of the bar, the blushing woman realizing she’d held on for just a few seconds longer than was appropriate. 

They stayed for a few more songs, and afterwards they left happy (Carol and Sarah) and slightly tipsy (just Sarah). 

“And to think I thought you were  _ shy _ when we first met.” Carol teased. 

Sarah rolled her eyes, giggling. She knew Carol was just poking fun at her about the liberating effect Sarah’s three glasses of wine had (predictably) had on her. After the first glass, it had gotten easier and easier to be confident about singing on that stage with her ‘bell-like’ voice, as Carol described it.

“Well, what about you?” Sarah shot back, laughing. “I would never have thought you had such a range.” 

It was truly, amazingly. Carol’s speaking voice was higher and belied her slightly masculine bearing and haircut. But she had a deep range that Sarah could only dream of; the redhead’s range was much higher. It had worked out; their voices complimented each other perfectly. 

Though Sarah wasn’t surprised she couldn’t wait to do this again. 

_ Is there anything she can’t do? _

“I can’t act for shit.” 

Sarah’s mouth dropped open in embarrassment, realizing she’d spoken aloud.

Carol chuckled, continuing as if Sarah hadn’t started gaping like a fish. “It’s always very clear what I’m feeling.” She shrugged. “For all my powers, I just can’t seem to control my emotions very well.” 

“Maybe that should surprise me,” Sarah snickered. “But it really doesn’t.”

The taller blonde playfully elbowed the other woman, making her dissolve into another fit of giggles. They resumed walking along the sidewalk, as Sarah didn’t want to risk driving home for at least another hour. 

“That’s why I admire actors, especially aspiring ones like Michael.” 

Sarah nodded, giving an encouraging smile. 

“It’s not easy for me to hide what I’m feeling,” Perhaps Sarah had imagined the look Carol shot her. “So those who can portray something they don’t actually feel, and do it well, I respect them for it.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Michael you said that at his practice on Thursday.”

“I thought you had work?” Carol inquired.

“I told Danielle I’d help with the coaching.” She shrugged, sipping on the water bottle she held in her hand. “It’s at a later time...seven, I think?” Her eyes lit up as she grinned. “You should come watch the practice!” 

Carol had found a bar that was closer to the edge of the bay, so it had been relatively easy to make their way to a bench by the water and just watch the lights. 

The blonde smiled indulgently at her companion. “I would love to, but Fury needs me in a briefing. No clue how long it might take.”

Sarah understood. No time was too late in the day for the Director to keep his agents for work. 

“But the night’s still young.” Carol said as she looked up into the endless night sky. Seeing her still gaze up at the stars with an expression akin to wonder on her face, even after being among them for so many years, was simply breathtaking. The blonde nodded to the building behind them. “Want to give that a try?”

Maybe it was the multiple glasses of wine, or the way Carol’s eyes were sparkling with the reflected light from the tallest buildings in the city that possessed the acrophobic woman to say,

“Let’s do it.”

All she knew for sure was that she was certain there wasn’t a person alive that made her feel as safe and protected as Carol Danvers. 

* * *

Carol didn’t have super hearing, but she was pretty sure she could hear Sarah’s heart pounding as they rode the elevator to the viewing floor of the tallest building in New York. Although, the way Sarah was still clutching tightly to Carol’s arm the whole way up served as a warning just as well.

“Don’t let me talk myself out of this, okay?”

Hearing the request from the slightly-shaking woman made Carol’s heart melt at the thought of someone letting themselves be so vulnerable with their fear. She was sure a completely-sober Sarah wouldn’t have given this trip a second thought (and by that, she meant she wouldn't have thought twice about giving Carol an immediate ‘no way in hell’). Most beings were delicate in comparison to Carol, so she respected anyone that was willing to face their fear even if it gave them such anxiety. 

_ Good for her. _

Carol patted the hand that was still firmly closed around her bicep and murmured, “I’ll be right here; nothing’s going to happen.”

Even if there was a terrorist attack on the building at this very moment, Carol knew she could get Sarah out of the line of fire in two seconds flat...So what was the worst that could happen?

The elevator ( _ finally,  _ Sarah muttered as they exited) made it to the top floor and Sarah couldn’t help her gasp of surprise as she took in the view from almost two-thousand feet above the ground. 

_ God, it’s beautiful.  _

Carol noted that Sarah was mostly fixated on the skyline rather than the buildings below her (no surprise there), but while she could appreciate the beauty of a lighted skyline such as New York after sunset, the blonde remained mostly disaffected by the whole thing. 

Seeing Sarah look on in wonder was the most entertaining thing here, in Carol’s opinion. 

Sarah finally glanced down from where she had ventured over to lean against one of the railings that lined the viewing windows and stepped back rapidly, almost tripping over Carol, who stood at her side, posture relaxed as always. 

The blonde steadied her friend and chuckled. “I was wondering when you’d finally look down.” 

Sarah buried her face in Carol’s shoulder and groaned.  _ This is why I’m here.  _ The sight had been sobering, for sure, but now she needed to tough it out. 

Carol stroked Sarah’s hair for a moment before stepping back, turning the redhead towards the elevator. “We can leave whenever you’re done feeling adventurous.” She snickered.

The scientist wasn’t sure that was an awful idea, actually. She turned to follow when something caught her eye. 

_ Perfect.  _ She thought.  _ Intimidating, but perfect.  _

She swallowed as she tugged on Carol’s sleeve, making the blonde turn to glance at her inquiringly. 

“I’m just going to walk across that and then I’ll be good to leave.”

Carol looked over to where Sarah had gestured with her head. 

“Really?” Carol wasn’t sure if it would be inappropriate to laugh at the adorably determined expression that had come over Sarah’s face. 

Sarah nodded and marched herself over to the glass panels that lined the floor a few yards away. She only needed to look down for a moment for her knees to lock and she felt herself start to sweat a little. 

_ Stop being such a baby.  _ She told herself, watching little children play along the see-through panels.  _ What’s the worst that could happen? If those kids can do it, a full grown woman can do it too. _

Carol watched, half out of amusement, half out of curiosity, as Sarah seemed to psych herself up for what Carol could clearly see was going to be a large step for her in conquering that fear of hers. 

“There’s nothing to be scared of.” Carol hoped she could reassure Sarah somehow. “Here.” She left Sarah’s side and walked to the opposite end of the panels, her stride no-nonsense and sure. Carol had been gazing down (because she, for one, enjoyed the view) as she strolled over, but glanced back up once she hit the other side. 

“Am I a toddler now?” 

“There’s plenty of toddlers here already.” Carol joked. “C’mon.” She didn’t lift her arms and make a scene about it, but gestured with her hands for Sarah to join her. 

Sarah gaped at Carol and then steeled herself; this shouldn’t be such a big deal. She let go of the railing and stepped onto the first panel. Sarah could feel her heart pounding in her ears as she took her first step, then another. It was crazy for someone that was afraid of heights to be able to see straight down in such a fashion. 

But as she lost track of which step had been her fourth, or fifth, she became mesmerized by how stunning all the twinkling lights below her were. The world fell away, and Sarah found herself forgetting how high up she was, how scared she should be. 

Sarah was pulled from her thoughts when the increasingly familiar scent of leather and sandalwood enveloped her, and Carol’s practical boots came into view. 

“There she is.” Carol quipped as Sarah stepped into her arms without any provocation. Not that she needed an invitation. Sarah’s nose was turned inward towards Carol’s neck and the smaller woman had never felt so safe. “That wasn’t so bad, huh?”

Sarah breathed deep and opened her eyes, staring openly into Carol’s guileless face. “It’s beautiful.”

Neither of them were sure who or what Sarah was referring to now. 

The redhead didn’t notice the way Carol’s shoulders tensed at their sudden proximity. Sarah couldn’t help her gaze as it flickered between Carol’s eyes, as if studying them one by one, then down to her lips and back up again. 

Sarah couldn’t explain it, suddenly the whole plethora of reasons for avoiding anything romantic with Carol Danvers seemed to drift away into nothing, like the wind carrying away a pile of ashes into the distance. 

Sarah leaned in slowly, her breath catching as she watched Carol follow, their eyes closing softly. 

Their lips had only the barest touch when a shrieking child made them both jump out of surprise. 

It seemed the spell had been broken, and they awkwardly (as awkward as Carol ever got, Sarah supposed) pulled apart and gave each other almost identical uneasy smiles. 

Neither thought it appropriate to mention how much they missed the contact as soon as it was gone. 

* * *

Sarah sighed, fiddling with her pen as she paused in her analysis of the Monolith in front of her. Carol had seen her safely to her car immediately following their near-kiss (was it a kiss? Sarah had endlessly agonized about the implications for days afterwards) and she had driven home, with Carol excusing herself for the night as soon as possible.

The redhead hadn’t seen anything wrong with that, what with the strange tension that had fallen over them in that half hour from the top level of the tower back to her vehicle. 

_ I would’ve been in a hurry to get away from me too _ . She supposed. 

She let out a loud exhale again, making her coworkers give her strange looks from where they had been examining the Monolith themselves. Their lead researcher was normally so focused, though only the icy set of blue eyes glaring Sarah’s way had any inclination of what might be causing the redhead’s internal conflict. 

It had been two days, and Sarah hadn’t spoken at length with Carol about what had happened between them. Or spoken at all, really, aside from pleasantries exchanged in the hallways as they passed each other on their way back and forth to various briefings or trial runs. Sarah thought it would be a healthy thing to do, clearing the air between them. 

Nothing had changed. Not about Carol’s hours, how she could get called away at a moment’s notice, the dangers of the job itself (despite Carol’s near-invulnerability).

Though Sarah’s level of caring about such things might have diminished...a bit. Maybe. She felt silly about wasting time on Earth that might be limited for Carol, agonizing about trivialities. 

Only it wasn’t trivial to Sarah...She just didn’t know what to do. 

Finally accepting that she wasn’t going to get any more work done today, Sarah closed her notebook and bid her colleagues a good night. She still had to make it to Michael’s practice on-time. 

She turned to walk out the door, oblivious to the eyes that stared intently after her. 

_ Interesting. _


	4. Point of No Return

Carol wasn’t big on over-analyzing anything. Ever. She was a simple creature by nature and tended to think more with her gut and her heart than her brain. Though she’d be lying if she said that the barest brush of a tiny redhead’s lips on hers didn’t make her tremble with excitement. 

Just a bit. 

She was pretty sure Fury already knew where her thoughts had been wandering to, as he gave her a (only slightly) veiled look of exasperation during the briefing he was currently leading. 

It was past 2000, and the meeting was finally wrapping up. Carol had gotten the gist of the situation long ago, so it was beyond her why these meetings needed to be so damn  _ long. _

“Captain, if I could borrow you for a moment.” Fury called from the other end of the room as everyone was standing to leave. 

“Director.” Carol teased in mock-seriousness. 

Fury rolled his eye in a way that said, “ _ I am so done with you. _ ” Carol grinned at his chagrin as if it were the highlight of her day. 

Though, if there was one thing to never be doubted about Nick Fury, it was that he always got his say in. 

The man nonchalantly dropped a stack of files on the table between them. Carol watched them slide towards her before they stopped short of falling off the edge. “Dr. Williams forgot those in here after the briefing she gave here earlier.” He gestured for her to take the files. “Since you and she have become so  _ close _ over the past few weeks.” 

Was Fury teasing her?

If Carol had been anyone else, they might have had the decency to blush (the blonde knew Sarah would have, under the scrutiny). Her resulting smirk grew into a full blown laugh at the look of slight disappointment on the (physically) older man’s face as he sighed. 

“Just make sure she gets them.” 

“Yessir, Director.” She had zero complaints about getting an excuse to see her favorite redhead again, no matter how awkward said woman wanted to make their interactions after their kiss. 

Well, near-kiss. 

Carol glanced at her watch. Looks like she’d make it for some of Michael’s rehearsal after all. 

* * *

_ “No!”  _ Destiny scowled at the two leads as if their heads had suddenly fallen off their shoulders.

Which is what would have actually happened, if looks could kill. 

Sarah winced at the earful she knew from experience was coming from one of her closest friends. 

“You need to look at her like she’s your reason for living!” The tiny black-haired woman ranted, climbing the steps that led to the stage after the pair’s fourth attempt. “Have you never had a forbidden lover before?”

“I mean, hasn’t everyone?” A familiar voice joked from over Sarah’s shoulder. 

“Carol!” Sarah whipped around and found herself staring into softly twinkling chocolate eyes. “I thought you said you couldn’t make it?” 

The blonde shrugged. “I had some time on my hands after I skipped that briefing.” Sarah cocked her head, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. “I’m kidding.” Carol held out a stack of files, her lips quirking upwards in amusement. “ _ Director  _ Fury said you forgot these.”

Sarah took longer than she’d ever admit actually looking down at the files Carol was holding out to her, still lost in the look of affection the blonde was giving her.

Once she finally glanced at the folders in Carol’s hand, her eyes widened comically. “ _ Oh! _ ” She snatched the folders out of Carol’s grasp in a slight panic. 

“Oh jeez,” She laughed nervously, quickly taking stock of the unclassified, but nonetheless vital, collection of data. “That could’ve been a mess!” 

Carol smiled indulgently at the smaller woman before glancing up at the stage, where Sarah’s college friend continued to roast the actors playing Erik and Christine on the importance of a ‘passion-fueled gaze’. “Trouble in paradise, huh?”

Sarah smiled sheepishly. “She’s always been like that.” She shrugged. “Perfectionism and all that.”

“Ah.” Carol waved to Michael, who was standing stage left, but had noticed his aunt’s friend arrive. The shy boy waved back, but didn’t approach; the last thing he wanted was to draw the attention of the spitfire that was still on her rampage. 

“I would think Michael’s part in all this would’ve been done already.”

“Oh, it is.” Sarah laughed, nodding towards the director. “Destiny doesn’t let anyone leave until every person’s part in the practice is finished.”

Carol chuckled. That would explain the number of disgruntled expressions scattered across the room. 

“Can’t have that, can we?” Before the bespectacled woman could stop her, Carol strolled lazily away from Sarah and up to the stage, seemingly unfazed by the blatant irritation that was pouring off the little director in waves. 

“Maybe I can help?” Carol interjected once the woman had stopped to breathe. She felt, more than saw, Sarah come up behind her, standing concernedly at her shoulder. 

Destiny whirled around and pinned Carol with a laser-like glare that made her see how such a tiny woman could be thought of as intimidating. 

Well, maybe to someone that hadn’t stared down entire armies more than once. 

“And who are you?” In typical diva fashion, Destiny didn’t even wait for an answer before rambling on, “Are you an actor? A singer, perhaps?” She gasped in faux-shock. “ _ Maybe _ you’re a professional director, since you obviously have the gall to think you can help.”

“I’m a friend of Sarah’s,” Carol stated calmly, not even bothering to give her name; she knew the smaller woman didn’t care. “And I think maybe they need to see someone give them a demonstration.”

“They’ve watched performances by other troupes. I’ve told them a million times to watch performances by other actors. ” Destiny sneered. “Plus there’s the movie versions to consider.”

Carol glanced at the leads over Destiny’s shoulder. She could tell by the deer-in-headlights looks she was seeing in their eyes that neither of them had bothered to do that much research for their roles.

_ Well, now that’s just pathetic. _

The blonde smirked. “Still.” 

Sarah watched in fascination as Carol, hands casually in her pockets, stared down the woman that every person that was a part of this production feared snapping their head off.  _ And I know I’m not the only one. _

“Maybe  _ you _ should show them, then,” The black-haired woman challenged. “Since you’re such an expert.”

Carol grinned. Was that supposed to put her off? “Well, I wasn’t offering, but...” She turned back to glance at Sarah, a relaxed smirk still adorning her face. “Maybe your lovely musical advisor can accompany me.”

Sarah blushed not only at the compliment, but at having been put on the spot.

Destiny finally seemed to notice her close friend standing there, as if for the first time. Her eyes narrowed, and she approached Sarah, whispering in her ear. “What is this?”

“Just trust her.” Sarah pleaded, giving what she hoped was a coaxing smile to help this along. Maybe this would help Andrew and Serena a bit. “She’s good at what she does.”

The woman, shorter than the already-small Sarah, hiked up an eyebrow at the promise. 

“Which is what, exactly?”

Sarah didn’t think, she just said exactly what Carol was doing right now. What she always seemed to do, even when in the midst of a fight. “Improvising.”

Destiny huffed and shooed everyone off the stage, setting the music to begin, giving a short flick of her wrist when Carol and Sarah were on their starting positions at opposite ends of the stage. The pair seemed to instinctively know who was taking which role, based solely on which spot Carol chose. They both knew that ‘Erik’ was stage right, and ‘Christine’ stayed stage left, kneeling as was called for in the scene.

Once the first notes of the accompaniment were heard, Carol didn’t miss a beat, jumping right in. 

Sarah didn’t bother to suppress the shudder that ran through her at the first sound of Carol’s voice.  She knew then and there that she wouldn’t have to  _ act  _ to be seduced by it.

_ You have come here _

_ In pursuit of your deepest urge _

_ In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent _

_ Silent _

Sarah fixed her gaze on the woman stalking slowly towards her, not turning her body just yet, but it was clear who held her attention. 

The redhead almost held back a sigh as Carol’s rich voice continued to fill the area surrounding the stage. Sarah wasn’t a trained actress, only a singer, so she simply let her still-mostly restrained feelings for the blonde across from her show fully on her face. She knew that alone would be more than enough to convince her audience that the emotion was real. 

_ I have brought you _

_ That our passions may fuse and merge _

_ In your mind you've already succumbed to me _

_ Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me _

_ Now you are here with me, no second thoughts _

_ You've decided, decided _

The cadence of Carol’s tone shifted like the wind to match her expression, smug and seductive as she gazed across the stage, into Sarah’s eyes. Her strong voice resembled first an assurance, then softened to a whispered tone full of promise. 

_ Past the point of no return _

_ No backward glances _

_ The games of make-believe are at an end _

Carol’s words almost seemed to take on a honey-like quality as she purred the lyrics to the object of her desires. She unhurriedly approached her counterpart, her steps graceful and confident.

_ Past all thought of if or when _

_ No use resisting _

_ Abandon thought and let the dream descend _

Sarah’s blue eyes remained fixed on the blonde’s fluid movements as she moved closer. The redhead had yet to take a single step, keeping with the scene, but she felt as though she wouldn’t have been able to move even if she'd wanted to. She was utterly transfixed by Carol’s supposedly fictitious seduction.

The smaller woman was so intent on watching her partner, she was nearly startled at the sudden way Carol moved in sleekly behind her, the act performed so evenly that she couldn’t help the soft gasp that left her lips, one that only Carol was able to hear. Sarah’s eyelids fluttered shut as she let her head fall back against Carol’s shoulder, exposing her neck, almost as an invitation, to the beautiful woman behind her. The touch of Carol’s palm against the sensitive skin of Sarah’s upper neck was gentle, but gave the appearance of a possessive nature of the feelings Erik held for Christine. Never enough to hurt, but to remind of the intensity of the emotion that one person could have for another. 

_ What raging fire shall flood the soul? _

_ What rich desire unlocks its door? _

_ What sweet seduction lies before us _

As quickly as she had appeared at her back, Carol was again gone, gently brushing her dexterous hands from where they had lightly grasped her neck, down her shoulder and then her arm, leaving goosebumps in her wake. 

Carol grasped Sarah’s hand reverently and led her deliberately forward, coaxing and tempting with the promise of unrivaled passion, only for ‘Christine’ to pull her hand away out of indecision. 

_ Past the point of no return _

_ The final threshold? _

_ What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn _

_ Beyond the point of no return? _

Sarah barely noticed the glaring hush that had fallen over the auditorium, even the hypercritical Destiny seemed to have been mesmerized by Carol’s unexpectedly bewitching performance. The smaller woman took a breath and began to sing.

_ You have brought me _

_ To that moment where words run dry _

_ To that moment where speech disappears into silence _

_ Silence _

Carol knew Sarah was just doing her best to accurately portray what her character had to be feeling right now, but that didn’t mean that the blonde didn’t have a surge of adrenaline shoot up her spine at the look Sarah was giving her. Flames of blue prurience seemed to flicker from her eyes, and had to be one of the most captivating things Carol had ever beheld.

_ I have come here _

_ Hardly knowing the reason why _

_ In my mind I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent _

_ And now I am here with you, no second thoughts _

_ I've decided, decided _

‘Christine’, entranced by her companion, began to lead them to the back half of the stage, where there would later be steps that would serve as the bridge. ‘Erik’ followed, completely overtaken by the notion that the object of his desire had finally accepted and chosen him.

_ Past the point of no return _

_ No going back now _

_ Our passion play has now at last begun _

Their audience watched with fascination as the two women mirrored the other’s movement towards the makeshift bridge. 

_ Past all thought of right or wrong _

_ One final question _

_ How long should we two wait before we're one? _

_ When will the blood begin to race _

_ The sleeping bud bursts into bloom? _

_ When will the flames at last consume us? _

__

Sarah’s voice caressed and seduced, needing no microphone as it carried across the stage and beyond. Carol and Sarah approached each other from opposite ends of the bridge and met in the middle, their steps growing quicker the closer they got to one another. Hands grasped at each other, and Carol spun Sarah around almost roughly to pin Sarah’s back against her chest. 

Their fingers intertwined just below Sarah’s breasts and they both couldn’t contain the shiver that ran through them at the contact. Carol’s hands covered Sarah’s and the shorter woman guided her partner’s hands higher and higher on her torso as the pair swayed gently. Even though her own hands separated Carol’s palms from the skin of her chest, Sarah felt the proximity all too clearly.

_ Past the point of no return _

_ The final threshold _

_ The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn  _

_ We've passed the point of no return _

The scene ended with Carol and Sarah wrapped up in each other’s arms, with the blonde gently cradling the shorter woman’s neck as she exposed it enticingly to her partner. 

When Sarah opened her eyes, it was as if she was awakening from a dream, and she craned her head back to look at the taller woman behind her. Carol seemed just as hypnotized, rooted to the spot by Sarah’s gaze, neither noticing the audience that still looked on in awe. Carol searched Sarah’s face, and saw acceptance, as well as desire painted clear as day. The blonde had forgotten that they weren’t alone as she began to inch closer- 

A slow clap interrupted the couples’ embrace, and they both turned to look at the source of the sound. Michael grinned widely from his place at the edge of the stage as he applauded, and it wasn’t long before the rest of the cast followed suit. 

Carol and Sarah disentangled their limbs, neither wanting to admit how much they each wished it hadn’t ended so soon. Sarah gave her friend a bashful smile and fiddled with her glasses, and Carol grinned at the characteristic show of shyness. 

“I suppose that wasn’t  _ terrible. _ ”    
Sarah rolled her eyes at Destiny’s sardonic commentary, eager now to look anywhere but back at Carol as she stepped away; she knew it’d be all too easy to get lost in her eyes again...then she’d just continue standing there looking like an idiot. 

The blonde didn’t care to stick around; she’d more than accomplished what she’d set out to do here (which was to hand off the files and she’d definitely done that). She hoped she hadn’t made Sarah overly uncomfortable, putting her on the spot like that. Maybe she should’ve thought things through more...

_ Since when do I play Monday morning quarterback with myself? _

She figured she should get out of here before she did anything else that would unintentionally put Sarah out. 

Sarah looked on, bewildered, as Carol made a hasty exit after the scene they’d just done together. She didn’t know if it was worth holding on to this restraint that she’d convinced herself was necessary since meeting Carol. 

Michael was sure he didn’t imagine the slight deflation of his aunt as he watched the auditorium door close after the blonde. 

* * *

_ “Please?” _

Sarah rolled her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak, but Karen beat her to the punch. “Sophie we’ve already played, like, four times!” 

Sophie looked about  _ this _ close to stomping her foot in an attempt to get her way. The thunderstorm outside didn’t phase the preschooler; she was only interested in another game of hide-and-seek.

The child’s aunt laughed at the consternation on the little girl’s face, and gave in. “One more. But then it’s time for bed, got it?”

The tiny brunette cheered, oblivious to her big sister’s groan. 

Michael and Karen, being significantly older than Sophie, got ‘found’ fairly easier. The preschooler was surprisingly crafty in her choice of hiding spots. Once Sarah had found her hiding behind some pots and pans in one of the bottom kitchen cabinets. It was strictly an in-house game, though, especially with the storm raging outside. Dennis and Chrissie owned the few acres that surrounded the house and it was densely forested...Who knew what kind of trouble little Sophie could get herself into if Sarah didn’t remind her constantly to keep her games indoors unless she had someone with her. 

Sarah giggled as she watched Sophie sprint off to find her hiding place, Michael and Karen rolling their eyes before following along. She turned around to count when her phone chimed. Sarah could feel herself beaming as she read the text. 

_ [ Carol]: How goes the babysitting? _

_ [Sarah]: One more game of hide-and-seek to go.  _

The scientist had just finished counting down (much more loudly than was strictly necessary) when her phone chimed again.

_ [Carol]: Bet Karen and Michael are having a blast with that one.  _

_ [Sarah]: They’ll live.  _

_ [Carol]: LOL  _

Sarah paused at the foot of the stairs, considering. Maybe it was time she owned up to what she was feeling and had  _ that talk _ with Carol. Just the thought of the undoubtedly awkward conversation with the blonde made her stomach seem to twist itself into knots. 

_ [Sarah]:....Want to come over later? We should talk.  _

_ [Carol]: Everything okay?  _

The redhead smiled softly to herself. 

_ [Sarah]: I think so :) _

_ [Carol]: I’ll head over in a few, then. Wouldn’t want to interrupt your game. ;) _

Sarah laughed and sent an affirmation to the blonde letting her know that was fine before she wandered the house in search of her brother’s offspring. Michael and Karen were (predictably) found quickly, as their larger frames made finding a decent hiding spot much harder, even if they had been inclined to actually apply themselves to the game. 

The three of them teamed up to find Sophie, but after fifteen minutes, they were running out of places to look. 

“Sophie!” Sarah called. “Time to come out, it’s time for bed, sweetie.” 

Lightning cracked across the sky outside, briefly flashing through the closed windows in the living room. The trio heard a  _ thump!  _ come from upstairs, towards the attic. 

The three of them looked at each other fearfully. 

_ She didn’t... _

Sarah sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time and nearly hit herself in the nose in her haste to yank the cord that would release the steps that led to the attic. 

The open window that greeted Sarah made the bottom fall out of her stomach.

Sarah called Sophie’s name again. 

The child’s cry was the only response she received. 

She dashed to the window’s edge, with Karen and Michael right on her heels and her breath froze in her throat as she finally caught sight of her niece. 

Sophie was clinging to the trunk of the large oak tree that grew right outside the attic’s window. With the storm outside, Sarah couldn’t understand what had possessed the child to climb out the window and cross the branch to the other side. 

_ How did she even get up there?  _

Sarah refused to panic, but the worry building in her chest was making her nauseous.

“Michael, get downstairs and to the base of that tree.” Sarah hoped her voice didn’t betray any trepidation that would alarm the children. “Just in case.”

Michael took off down the stairs. 

“What are you doing?” Karen grabbed her aunt by the back of her shirt as she climbed on the windowsill. 

“I’m going to get your sister.” She glanced back and fixed her eldest niece with a hard look. “ _ Stay here _ .”

Karen nodded and reluctantly let go as the older woman reached out to her younger sister. 

“Sophie, baby, it’s okay.” Sarah tried to reassure the still-wailing child. “Honey, you need to come to me. You can do it.”

Sophie was unresponsive, she was too scared to think. 

Sarah couldn’t think about anything but seeing her niece safe, and before she could talk herself out of it, she was out the window, across the branch, and wrapping an arm around Sophie, the other arm braced against the tree for balance. 

The child just screamed louder as Sarah cradled her. 

“Sophie, sweetheart, go to your sister.” Sarah tried not to snap at the little girl. “Now. Go!” 

She had barely handed Sophie back to Karen when thunder suddenly crackled across the sky, making Sarah jump in surprise. She grasped back at the tree trunk and squeezed her eyes shut. It finally occurred to her how high up she was and the short distance back to the safety of the attic seemed like a mile long. 

The woman looked down, against her better judgement and saw a glowing Carol looking up at her from on the ground. The blonde held out her arms invitingly, gesturing that she would catch her. 

_ Why doesn’t she fly up to me? _ Sarah couldn’t think. Her hair was plastered to her head and she shivered at how cold the rain was as it pelted her body harshly. 

Trembling, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. 

Sarah was so busy trying not to panic she didn’t notice the streak of light soaring towards her brother’s house. 

* * *

Carol hadn’t known what to think of Sarah wanting to ‘talk’. All she could do was hope that she hadn’t crossed any lines irrevocably. 

She had just grabbed her jacket when her phone began to ring. 

Shrugging on her jacket, Carol didn’t bother checking the caller ID. 

“Hello?”

“Carol. Thank God.” 

_ Michael? _

The sound of the young voice of her friend’s nephew gave her pause, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. “Michael, hi...” Never one to ignore her instincts, she asked, “Is everything okay over there?”

“Sophie climbed out a window and-” 

Carol was already out the door, hearing the rising panic in the young man’s voice. 

“Hey. Just stay calm, okay?” She said, trying to placate the teenager. “Where’s your aunt?”

“She went to get her.” His voice shook. “I didn’t know what to do.”

“Where are they?”

She flew so fast that the kid never had a chance to respond. Michael was standing in the rain outside his family’s home, and, seeing her approach, pointed up a tree to where his aunt, who was also now soaked to the bone, was clinging to the tree she was apparently stuck in. Carol arrived just in time to see Sarah open her eyes and try to edge towards the open window where Karen had held out a hand to her.

Carol wasted no time in flying close, but not too fast, to avoid startling her friend. “Hey, starlight.” 

Sarah’s eyes shot up, and she blinked through the tears that threatened. Carol hovered closer, reaching her arms out to slowly wrap around her. 

“It’s okay, shh. I’ve got you.” She murmured as she felt Sarah finally react to her proximity and Carol felt the arms around her neck squeeze her tightly. 

Sarah was close to sobbing at this point, she was so thankful to see Carol. 

They both heaved a sigh of relief, but for vastly different reasons. The blonde wrapped one arm around Sarah’s shoulders and the other went beneath the other woman’s knees to gently lift her from the tree branch. She floated down and landed softly on the porch, whispering reassurances to the woman that was swiftly becoming one of the dearest things to her. 

“Shhh, baby,” Carol tightened the arm that was wrapped around Sarah’s shoulders, and the woman finally seemed to break out of her fear-induced state. “You’re okay.” 

“Aunt Sarah!” 

The redhead looked up from where her face had been hidden in the taller woman’s neck at the sound of her niece’s voice. 

Little Sophie hadn’t stopped crying. “ _ I’m sorry! _ ” She wailed. 

Carol gently placed Sarah on her feet, and the scientist immediately kneeled down to Sophie’s level. The blonde, who thought she was about to collapse, knelt beside her friend, her hands still on Sarah’s shoulders. 

“Sophie.” Carol had never heard Sarah use such a stern tone. “Don’t you  _ ever _ do that again. Do you understand me?”

The little girl stopped crying just long enough to look like someone was stepping on her favorite toy. She nodded, Sarah still staring her down. 

Finally, just like that, all the tension seemed to bleed out of Sarah’s shoulders and she let her head fall into one of her hands in relief.

Sarah sighed as she drew in her baby niece, and the little girl began crying all over again. 

Carol stood, figuring the two were alright for now, and saw Karen standing just behind Sophie. 

“You okay?” Carol asked softly. 

Karen sniffed, her hands covering her face briefly as she desperately tried not to cry. 

The blonde shifted, not sure if the girl would accept comfort from someone who was basically a complete stranger. The teenager seemed to decide for her, though, as she leaned in to exhaustedly rest her face, still covered by her hands, on Carol’s shoulder. 

Back convulsing, the teen made a valiant effort to not make a scene, which she knew would just make her aunt worry more, but she couldn’t help herself. 

Carol patted the brunette’s back, muttering reassurances and attempting to buoy the girl’s spirits. 

Sarah and Carol made eye contact as they looked over the respective shoulders of the children they held. 

Sarah couldn’t think of anything that needed to be said more at that moment than, 

_ Thank you.  _

* * *

_ Damn it! _ Eric slammed his palm against the side of his car, heedless to the pain that shot up his wrist at the impact. 

He’d seen the way the blonde avenger and his supervisor had been avoiding each other for the past few days. Observed their awkward exchanges that were tense at best. Since Danvers was the reason his first attempt at the redhead had failed, he had resolved to wait until he could get a clear opportunity to kill her. Now that they seemed to be avoiding each other, he had a chance to simply lie in wait for the perfect opportunity. 

No one would be coming to save her this time, or so he’d thought. 

When he’d seen the small child climb the tree from his vantage point across the street, in the middle of a blustering storm, he’d grinned in delight. It had only been a half hour at most before Sarah had predictably gotten her acrophobic self stuck in the tree, replacing the child she’d been desperate to get to safety. 

_ Foolish.  _ He’d thought he’d had her when he saw her look down in shock, then acceptance. But the stupid girl hesitated, and the rest worked out so  _ well _ for the redhead-blonde duo. 

_ “Are you ready to ask for help, little human?”  _

Eric didn’t look up from where he’d leaned his head against the cool metal of his car. 

His barely whispered affirmation was all the Inhuman needed for a grin to spread across a face Nevis could not see. 

_ Finally. _


	5. Intoxicating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where the story earns its 'Mature' rating. ^-^ Enjoy, everyone!

“ _ What were you thinking? _ ” Carol hissed. 

Sarah blinked, surprised at the blatant anger radiating off of the normally-easygoing Avenger. “Excuse me?”

“You think that, what, since you were able to walk across a perfectly stable  _ floor  _ in a building a few thousand feet in the air, you shouldn’t be scared of heights anymore?” 

Carol was livid. The kids had all been put to bed, but before that, she had been meticulously cautious to disguise her irritation at the childrens’ aunt. Said aunt was still shivering in her wet clothes, even with the towel that Carol had snatched from a linen closet. For some reason, Sarah’s vulnerable appearance only served to incense her further. 

The scientist balked at the accusatory comment. “I wasn’t thinking  _ anything _ , Carol!” She snapped. “My baby niece was stuck in a tree in a thunderstorm; I couldn’t do nothing!”

“You knew I was on my way.” Carol argued. “You should have waited.” 

“I wasn’t going to just sit there.” 

“You’re almost more likely than Sophie to get stuck in a tree, you reckless, irresponsib-”

Neither was sure who moved first. One second the two womens’ shoulders were squared as if to face off against the other, then next their lips were clashing aggressively together. Sarah’s hands tangled in Carol’s blonde hair and Carol’s hands wandered, one to support Sarah across her back, the other moved lower, pulling Sarah’s hips to hers roughly. 

The kiss only lasted a few moments, but to the two of them, it felt as if all the repressed adoration that had accumulated over the last few weeks had just exploded to the surface all at once. Fingers yanked and roved, caressing and desperately trying to clutch the other closer. Their sighs of pleasure and breathless moans at the sensations they were feeling could have easily been misconstrued as whispers of relief. 

Carol had never been quite so unhappy to feel the buzzing in her jacket pocket. It was nothing if not familiar. Though the damn pager had never come between Carol and something she fiercely desired before. Sarah had made sure Carol got herself a cell phone to ‘get with the times’, as she put it, but Carol had still held on to the old-fashioned device (that was ironically more advanced) just in case someone needed to intergalactically reach her for an emergency. 

Sarah’s small hands grasping at her jacket drew her back into reality. It occurred to Carol that this exact situation, here and now, was what had Sarah so worried about pursuing a potential relationship with someone like her. She’d known Sarah’s reasons, sure, but it wasn’t until this moment that Carol truly  _ understood. _

The blonde slowly ended the kiss (by ‘ending’, of course, she meant placing a last few chaste pecks on Sarah’s full lips before reluctantly pulling away). Regret, she was sure, shone plainly in her eyes and Sarah’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. 

“I...” Carol awkwardly cleared her throat, her entire vocabulary seemed to have deserted her. “I should go.”

She and Sarah stood there for a moment, staring into each other’s faces in what almost felt like wonder, so keen was their fascination with the other. 

Snapping out of her daze, Sarah quickly released her hold that she’d had on Carol’s hair and neck. The movement was convulsive, as if she had been scalded. 

She raised her hands in the universal sign of surrender and backed away. Carol’s chest felt tight at the sudden retreat. 

“O-Of course.” The redhead stammered, looking anywhere by into Carol’s face. She crossed her arms protectively across her chest, effectively cutting the woman off from her companion. “Sorry.” Sarah murmured, not completely sure what she was apologizing for. Her face remained flushed and she was still breathing heavily. 

“No, don’t be.” Carol reassured. “I’ll...see you, okay?”

Sarah sighed, resigned. “Sure, Carol.” She seemed to deflate a bit as she pulled the towel back around her shoulders from where it had fallen during her perceived lapse in judgement. 

Carol knew her own statement had been ambiguous at best, but she never had any way of knowing how long one of these calls could take. Even years ago, when she’d said good-bye to Monica and Maria  _ again _ , she hadn’t felt such a lingering reluctance to leave. 

Sarah watched as Carol, cool-as-a-cucumber Carol, walked almost hesitantly to the door in an uncharacteristic display of diffidence. 

The smaller woman just counted herself lucky that she was able to hold her cold, wet, shivering self together at least until the moment that the door closed behind Carol. It was no sooner that Sarah heard the telltale  _ click! _ that her eyes slipped shut and the tears slid down her cheeks. 

The sobs didn’t come until later. 

* * *

Sarah hadn’t heard from Carol in two weeks. She couldn’t say for certain what had caused the strongest Avenger to suddenly up and leave, but she assumed it had something to do with a mission. That, or Carol was purposely avoiding Sarah like the plague. 

She didn’t particularly care for the second option. 

To be fair, Sarah hadn’t tried to contact the blonde either. At first, she had wanted some space to work through what she was feeling, but the more time that passed, the more Sarah missed how she felt when Carol was around. The woman’s confidence, her snarky sense of humor, the way she made Sarah feel like the safest place to be was right at Carol’s side. 

She knew her coworkers sensed something was up with her. Nevis had asked after Carol once, but she figured it was just to tease her a bit about her obvious crush on the older woman. After Sarah had realized that her infatuation had indeed been so apparent, she’d thrown herself into her work even more than usual, feeling closer than ever to a breakthrough. Her team had continued their research on the Monolith as if nothing had changed, but instinctively they knew their leader’s heart wasn’t in it. 

It was a day just like any other, when the calculations finally made sense. 

“Oh my god.” Sarah breathed, double-checking the numbers, then checking them again. She waved her colleagues over to proof her math. 

_ I think we’ve done it. _

* * *

Sarah couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so excited. There were so many preparations to make, so many problems to solve. For too long, she felt like she’d been taking one step forward and then two steps back in regards to her research. 

Now, with Carol off who knew where, Sarah would be lying if she said she wasn’t grateful for the distraction. She occupied her time for the next few weeks conducting test after test in preparation for the team’s progress demonstration that was scheduled on Monday. 

Director Fury, as well as the figureheads above him would be in attendance, so the team was under a lot of pressure to ensure the generator for their potential teleportation device worked properly. 

If everything went according to plan, the demonstration could mean additional manpower and funding for their project. 

_ Think of it!  _ Sarah would think to herself.  _ Intergalactic travel! All the things we could learn from alien civilizations so much more advanced than us. The ways we could help others, like Carol does... _

Sarah frowned at the thought of her...were they friends? Sarah was sure that the amount of sheer longing that she felt when Carol was away wasn’t consistent with how people felt about their friends. Regardless, she knew she couldn’t be selfish. She couldn’t (well,  _ wouldn’t _ ) ask Carol to stop helping people that needed it. Captain Marvel’s work was too important. 

Lunch that day came and went and before they knew it, Sarah and her team stood in front of their boss and his bosses. 

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Sarah greeted the crowd. “Welcome to today’s progress demonstration.” 

The rest of the team stood by for information support, though they doubted their leader would need it. They all beamed in elation at the opportunity to showcase their collective accomplishments. 

Nevis’ grin of excitement was the widest of all his colleagues, but for vastly different reasons. 

* * *

Nick Fury looked on as a team composed of some of the smartest people he knew enthusiastically pointed out the features of their prototype generator. A fully operational teleporter was theorized to still be months away, but the first step had been to create an applicable power source. 

For such an introvert, Dr. Williams seemed to be holding up okay through the duration of her address to the observers. Calm and sure, her confidence in her people’s work shone through. It was no mystery to Fury why Carol seemed to have taken such an interest in the tiny researcher. 

He recalled his surprise when Carol had shown up in his office a few weeks ago after receiving an emergency transmission. She hadn’t stayed more than a few minutes, just long enough to tell him to keep an eye out for Sarah Williams. 

_ “It doesn’t need to be a planetary crisis to call me if she’s in danger.”  _

Carol was always serious when it came to discussing business, but Fury noted the captain’s expression was even more dire than usual. 

She’d asked him to look out for the woman, and he’d agreed, as both said woman’s boss and Carol’s friend, that he would. That he’d protect the brilliant scientist if anything should threaten her. 

He hadn’t expected to have to make good on his promise so soon, though. 

Sarah had just called to commence the test, moving to stand near the power operator. They had only just applied initial power to their prototype generator when the machine began to whir and groan. 

Physicists weren’t exactly known for their poker faces, so Fury was able to tell right away that something was wrong. The overhead lights of the lab began to flicker, then gave out completely, leaving them all in total darkness. The backup electrical generators for the building kicked in moments later, and lower power lights stuttered back to life, which gave the group slight visibility of each other. 

No sooner had everyone glanced upwards and around in trepidation did the security alarm begin to sound throughout the building. 

The tactically trained agents that were present drew their weapons and began grouping the scientists and department heads together, preparing for extraction or to barricade themselves within the lab. 

Suddenly the generator that was meant to have been tested lit up and shook as power was routed into it from who knew where, considering the overhead lights were still out of commission. 

The generator operator and Sarah ran back to the machine’s display panel, the operator working furiously to try to shut off the power to it. After a moment, Sarah pulled them away from the keyboard and began to type frantically away herself, with little success. 

“Director, the generator’s taking in too much power.” Sarah spoke quickly, “The input is too much for a prototype to handle.”

Fury read between the lines. 

“Gabe, get these people out of here.” He ordered the senior agent. 

Sarah didn’t move from the console as Gabriel and his team started filing the rest of the group out of the lab.

Fury remained with Sarah as she attempted, fruitlessly to metaphorically ‘pull the plug’ on the damn machine. 

“There isn’t an actual plug to pull on this thing, is there?” He asked gruffly, not liking this situation one bit as he surveyed the door with his weapon drawn. 

Sarah scoffed. “I wish it were that simple.” Fury kept his eye trained on the entrance to the lab as the alarm continued to blare overhead. “Whoever pulls that plug has a good chance of getting fried alive, with the amount of current they would be separating.”

As the woman behind him spoke, Fury only just barely caught a glimpse of movement outside the lab’s door. 

He didn’t hesitate in pressing the call button on his pager.

Fury had simultaneously called Carol and reached back to grab Sarah to pull her away from the line of fire if he needed to. 

He hadn’t taken his eye off the door for even a second, so he had no idea how the bastard still managed to sneak up on him. 

Before he could comprehend what was happening, something that almost looked like a humanoid cloud of smoke came out of nowhere and slammed into his side, knocking him away. Sarah, being right behind him, was thrown to the floor along with Fury and into some crates a few feet away. 

Fury was back up on one knee in a flash, opening fire on something that was practically see-through, which he would care more about if he’d actually had time to stop and think about it. 

Sarah, still a bit dazed, looked on in horror as Fury’s bullets went right through the shadowy figure. 

“Sarah, go!” Fury barked. 

The woman stood on shaky legs and ran for the door, but she barely made it two steps before the shadow appeared in front of her, sweeping its ‘arm’ across its body and into Sarah’s chest. 

Sarah cried out as she felt her back impact one of the storage containers that resided in the lab. The bulk of storage in the room had been moved in favor of the generator test, including the Monolith and other alien substances that had been used for SHIELD study at some point. 

Fury’s only visible eye widened as he saw the container that Sarah had been thrown against. 

The shadow figure stalked closer to Sarah’s prone figure and raised its arm again to slash at the redhead. Sarah screamed as she ducked. 

As if it were a hot knife slicing through butter, the shadow’s arm tore through the container above Sarah’s head. 

Sarah beheld a brief vision of a fine blue mist before her throat seemed to close in on itself and her world went dark. 

* * *

Fury watched as artificially created Terrigen Mist spilled out of the pressurized container. Sarah inhaled the mist directly from its source, and he shouted as she clutched her throat and fell limp to the floor moments later. 

He still had no idea what he was dealing with, but he was getting desperate enough to throw himself physically at the damn thing, anything to get it away from the unmoving woman.

Suddenly he heard the prototype generator whining at a much higher frequency than it had been before, the glow around it intensifying. 

The shadow seemed to be able to hear the sound as well. It turned around to face the machine just as the generator whirred faster and faster. 

Fury sprinted to Sarah’s side while the creature was distracted and dragged her behind the Mist container, all of the toxins now dispersed. 

Once they were covered, he raised his pistol and fired at the glowing generator. 

The machine exploded, sending powerful shockwaves of heat and electricity through the walls and ceiling of the lab. The building shook from the explosion and part of the overhead couldn’t withstand the strain and collapsed in on itself.

Fury did what he could to shield the unconscious woman from any falling debris, glancing up once the dust had finally settled.

The creature had disappeared. 

* * *

Carol had already been on her way back from her emergency call when she received Fury’s message. Before the transmission had come in, she had been content to cruise steadily along towards Earth, but she quickly changed her mind once she got Fury’s page. She kicked her ship up into light speed to cover the remaining distance in minutes, landing somewhere between the Earth’s moon and the Earth itself, with Carol shooting out of the ship as soon as it came to rest. 

It didn’t take her long to reach the SHIELD facility, her heart stuttering as the security alarm reached her ears. She followed the page’s signal to Sarah’s lab. 

“Fury!” She called. 

“We’re in here!”

Hearing her friend’s voice, she channeled her power into both her arms, making them glow as she raised them. “Step away from the wreckage.”

There was no hesitation in the response. “We’re clear!”

A quick photon blast later had Carol sailing through the opening, her eyes searching for Fury. 

Her breath froze in her chest when she caught sight of Sarah slumped against a wall beside Fury. 

She was at their side in a flash, snapping a rapid  _ “What happened?”  _ as she cradled Sarah’s head in one hand, the other gently trying to shake the woman out of unconsciousness. 

“Sarah.” She whispered urgently.

The other woman groaned softly as she groggily opened her eyes. “Carol?” She murmured. 

“Hi.” Carol smiled softly, relieved. 

“Wh-Why are you here?”

Carol stroked Sarah’s red hair back from her flushed cheeks. “Fury called me.”

Sarah shook her head weakly. “I told him not to.”

“She did.” It wasn’t hard for Carol to clearly visualize her friend rolling his eyes. “It was the first thing she said when she came to, earlier.” 

“Why would you do that?” Carol snapped.

The younger woman sighed dazedly. “You were busy.” She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “I didn’t want to be in your way.”

Carol let out a long-suffering sigh as she rolled her eyes, moving to shift Sarah’s head to lean on her shoulder. “You could never be in my way, starlight.” She said softly, looking into the smaller woman’s face tenderly.

At the intimate gesture, Fury subtly moved to check the debris and beyond to see if the attack was over and if he could get that damn alarm turned off. 

The blonde frowned as she saw Sarah’s eyes about to drift closed, feeling a moment of panic. “Sarah. Hey, stay with me here.” She tried to keep her talking. “Do you remember what happened?”

“There was some kind of shadow figure.” Her brows drew together as she tried to recall what had transpired. “It had bright red eyes, and it came after us.” She let out a heavy breath. “It tore open the Terrigen container.”

Carol’s heart jumped in her throat. “Terrigen?” She breathed. “As in Terrigen crystals?”

“It was...uh-” Sarah blinked slowly, her vision wavering in and out. “Terrigen Mist? I think.”

_ Good God. _

Terrigen crystals were the means by which a race called ‘Inhumans’ (an ancient race created by none other than the Kree as a byproduct of an experiment on early humans) gained their trademark supernatural abilities.

Natural Terrigen Mist was harmless to humans, but Carol had heard stories of an artificially-produced Terrigen Mist that was lethally toxic to humans. 

Carol didn’t have to ponder if the mist that Sarah had been exposed to was made from natural Terrigen crystals or not. 

Sarah had to know this as well, seeing as since the Mist had been stored in the same space that she worked in, the whole research team would have had to have gone through HAZMAT training for the substance, just in case. 

“I’m sorry...” Sarah muttered, her brows furrowed as she breathed heavily. “I shouldn’t have pushed you away.”

“Oh, no. No no no.” Carol was quick to reassure the younger woman. “I should say that to you.”

Sarah turned her head to the side, her nose brushing against Carol’s neck where it was exposed above her suit. “I mean it. ‘Should have honest with you about how I felt from the start. Her voice wavered, as if she were about to cry.”

“Okay.” The captain shifted, suddenly uncomfortable with the multitude of emotion that was clawing at her chest. “That’s enough of that.” She stood with the other woman in her arms as easily as she had held Sarah’s 4-year-old niece. 

Sarah whined minutely at the movement, despite Carol’s efforts not to jostle her. She curled further into Carol’s arms, moaning softly. 

“That stuff’s easily fixed,” Carol went on. She hovered with Sarah held securely in her grasp. “I’ll be taking you on a proper date once you’re better. You’re going to be fine.”

The redhead let out a morose laugh. “You shouldn’t lie through your teeth like that,  _ captain. _ ” Her eyes snapped open as a thought occurred to her. “Oh God. My brother. I need to call my brother.” 

“I’ll call him.” Carol promised solemnly. “I’ll let him know to come as soon as he can, so don’t worry about it.”

Sarah sighed in exhaustion as she felt Carol’s lips press tenderly against her temple. “Thank you.” She whispered. She just felt so drained. 

“I’m taking you home now.” The blonde’s eyebrows drew together in consternation at the feel of Sarah’s unusually high temperature. The smaller woman’s body was fighting the foreign substance in her blood for all it was worth. Carol’s eyes lifted from the woman in her arms as the alarm suddenly stopped. 

The scientist began to doze off, her head lolling against Carol’s shoulder. The blonde shivered as Sarah’s breath caressed her neck. 

As Carol floated out of the room, only one thought was running through her head. 

_ What on earth am I going to tell her brother? _

* * *

Carol flew Sarah back to the redhead’s apartment, wanting to ensure she was as comfortable as possible...for as long as she had left. The medics at SHIELD hadn’t had any concrete answers as to how long the average human might survive exposure to the artificial Terrigen Mist. There was no way to know the timeline; how long it would take for the small researcher’s organs to begin to shut down. It could be days, or mere hours. The medics had looked close to tears as they admitted there was nothing they could do for the woman. 

“Fury, what if she doesn’t make it?” Carol had posed the question to her friend after giving him an update on Sarah’s condition. 

Fury, as the captain was well aware, wasn’t the type to tell little white lies to make her feel better. “I’m sorry, Carol.”

Carol held the phone in her left hand as she leaned against a nearby wall, dropping her head into her free hand. 

This wasn’t the first time that she had been too late to save someone. She was only one woman, after all; even she couldn’t be in two places at once. 

But that didn’t mean that it didn’t eat away at her, either. Especially when she had feelings for the person involved. 

She’d walked into Sarah’s apartment (which held a clear likeness to its owner, pragmatic with a soft and welcoming color scheme) and found her way into the redhead’s bedroom where she gingerly placed the lightly sleeping woman on her duvet. Sarah was still running a fever, so Carol knew she might not want to be under the covers. That would change soon, so Carol grabbed a blanket from the living room couch and draped it over the small form on the bed, removing her glasses gently.

Then she’d called Dennis. Sarah’s brother had sounded suspicious over why his sister couldn’t talk right now and why she needed him to pack up his wife and kids and drive to Sarah’s right away...but he hadn’t argued. He said he’d be there soon. 

Carol considered the dozing woman, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed in and out. She perched carefully on the other edge of the bed, so as not to disturb the sleeping woman beside her. Carol wanted to stay close in case Sarah woke up and needed something.

She let her head fall into her hands, letting out a shaky exhale. Captain Marvel didn’t cry, but she was sure Carol Danvers should be allowed a reprieve from her normal stoicism in this situation. Her cold and aloof demeanor when she was on a mission helped to protect her heart from breaking every time she had to watch the consequences of the simple reality that she couldn’t save everyone. 

Sarah’s eyes flickered open from where she lay on the bed. She looked around, recognizing her apartment, and then over to Carol, seeing the blonde’s hand come up to cover her own mouth and nose, her shoulders shaking slightly. 

Her heart went out to the woman who seemed to always have the universe on her shoulders, but never once complained about how much she had to sacrifice in order to be strong for everyone else. 

Sarah lifted one of her hands, which had been hidden under the blanket that Carol had covered her with, and placed it on Carol’s bent knee, getting the blonde’s attention. 

The captain looked up sharply at the touch, the sight of the tears in her eyes making Sarah’s chest constrict painfully. 

“Hey.” She muttered. “Don’t cry...” Sarah patted Carol’s knee. “You know this isn’t your fault, right?” 

Carol refused to let any more tears fall while Sarah was watching. She already felt guilty enough about making her worry at all while the woman was on her deathbed. 

“I know...” 

“You can’t blame yourself for every bad thing that happens, you know?” Sarah continued. “You can’t be everywhere at once; there was nothing you could have done.”

They were the exact words that Carol needed to hear, and she found she was able to blink away any additional tears that would have shed if Sarah hadn’t interrupted. She grasped Sarah’s hand in both of hers and squeezed it. 

The tired scientist gave a weak, but genuine, smile for her friend as she rested.

“What did Dennis say?” 

“He’s on his way.” Carol assured. “With traffic he said it would take him a few hours to get here, though.”

Sarah hummed, patting Carol’s hands that still grasped hers, and closed her eyes briefly. 

“Do you...need anything? Water?” Carol asked, desperate for something to occupy her mind. “I can make you something.”

_ How endearing.  _ Sarah thought. She’d have been a lucky woman, if she’d given this thing between them a shot sooner. “You’re...just so sweet, Carol.”

Carol looked uncomfortable at the sudden praise, managing to only shift minutely as Sarah gave a raspy laugh.

“I could  _ really _ do with a shower, though.” She scrunched up her nose in disgust. “I still have dirt on me from the falling debris this afternoon.”

“...Okay.” Carol acquiesced. “I’ll get you started, and you can just call if you need me.” 

“I think I’ll be okay.” 

Carol had to help her into the bathroom and stopped when she saw Sarah’s shower stall. 

“Sarah, maybe this isn’t a good idea.” The captain glanced warily at the shower head. “It’s only a shower stall; I thought you could take a bath sitting down.”

“Never had much need for a bathtub...” Sarah shrugged from her seat on the closed toilet bowl. ”Was never a fan, I guess. I’ll be fine, I’ll just take a sitting shower.”

Carol didn’t look convinced, giving Sarah a stern look. 

“I’m not letting my nieces and nephew see me for the last time looking like... _ this. _ ” Sarah argued softly. She laughed lightly. “I would like to not  _ completely  _ look like I’m dying.”

The blonde’s face softened as she nodded. She started the shower for Sarah and stepped to the doorway, glancing back for a moment. 

“I’ll be just outside.” She promised. “Just shout if you need me.”

Sarah smiled.  _ I’ll be fine.  _

Carol closed the bathroom door behind her.  _ She’ll be fine. _

* * *

...Is what they’d thought. 

True to her word, Carol planned to occupy herself in the next room, starting with changing out of her suit and into something more casual. She had barely gotten down to her suit’s pants and her black undershirt before she heard a loud  _ thump! _ over the sound of the shower’s running water. 

Carol sprinted to the bathroom and threw open the door. 

“Sarah!”

The glass door to the shower was so fogged up with steam, it was impossible for the captain to make out anything more than the faint outline of her friend. 

At the lack of response, Carol opened the stall door, and her eyes fell on the woman passed out on the tiled floor. 

The blonde easily ignored the hot water that hit her clothes and skin as she knelt at Sarah’s side. The other woman’s back was to her, the redhead’s hair soaked through and sticking to her face. 

Carol found a pulse with shaking fingers and pulled Sarah’s nude form out of the direct path of the water spray to make it easier for the smaller woman to breathe. 

“What happened?” Carol swept her hand across Sarah’s forehead. “You okay?”

“I’m an idiot.” Sarah groaned. 

The older woman let out a choked snort of relief. “Why?”

“I just wanted to grab the soap.” She pointed above their heads to the shelf that was barely out of reach if you were sitting on the shower floor. 

“Jesus.”  _ Why didn’t that occur to me?  _ If Carol’s hands weren’t otherwise occupied, she would’ve used one of them to smack her own forehead in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s my shower, Carol.” Sarah rolled her eyes sleepily, huffing out a laugh. “I should have been thinking ahead.”

Carol growled. “Sarah, you’re literally  _ dying. _ ” She snapped, forgetting in her fear for this woman’s life that she should try to be more gentle with said woman’s feelings. “You’re allowed to be a little short-sighted.” 

Sarah gazed into Carol’s face, seemingly trying to memorize every feature. Under different circumstances, she wouldn’t mind her current predicament so much. After all, the woman Sarah had been crushing so hard on for the past few months was holding her naked form in her arms.

_ Oh God I’m naked. _

With a burst of energy she hadn’t thought her failing body capable of, Sarah slapped a hand over her bare chest. Surprise flickered across Carol’s face at the sudden movement, but a thoroughly amused smirk quickly took its place. 

“This...isn’t exactly how I pictured you seeing me naked for the first time.” Sarah breathed sheepishly. 

Carol gave her an exasperated look, her irritation vanishing. “No offense, but looking wasn’t really the first thing on my mind, you know?” She chuckled, even though her thought process was anything but funny. “I  _ was _ a little concerned you’d just dropped dead in the shower.”

Sarah wound her free hand around the arm that Carol was using to support her so she could sit up a little. Her hand now rested on Carol’s left shoulder blade, and Sarah was able to feel the muscles tense beneath her hand as the captain shifted. Their faces were inches apart as they stared at each other under the hot spray of water. 

“You’re soaked.” Sarah blurted out, stating the obvious. 

The captain laughed lowly, not seeming to mind. “Would it be bad form to admit that I’ve imagined you saying that to me under much different circumstances?” She jokingly quirked up an eyebrow.

“I- um.” God, the woman’s ability to rob Sarah of her extensive vocabulary was unbelievable. 

Carol’s breath ghosted over her lips. “Yes?” She couldn’t seem to stop the playful grin that she now sported on her lips as she didn’t move to close or increase the distance between them. 

“I...may have lied, earlier.”

Carol cocked her head. “About?”

“I think I need a little help here.” Sarah tried and failed to break her gaze away from Carol’s. It would have been impossible to hear her statement over the running water if Carol hadn’t been so close. 

“All you had to do is ask.” Carol said affectionately. 

The blonde took great care in sitting the other woman right side up, Sarah leaning slightly forward to better keep her balance. Her tiredness had moved to the back of her mind when Carol was holding her, but at the loss of contact, Sarah experienced waves of vertigo, and had trouble even keeping herself upright.

“Do you want to try this again after your brother gets here?” Carol had planned to just hand the soap over to Sarah and leave her to it, but seeing the normally vivacious woman weakly slumped in on herself made her change her mind. “I’ll get Chrissie to help with this, if you want.”

“I really just want to be clean when they get here.” Sarah looked over her shoulder shyly. “Could you...give me a hand here? Please?”

The captain’s face softened. “Of course, starlight.” She then proceeded to gently, but methodically, wash Sarah’s prone form.

Not that Sarah was really  _ surprised _ at how professional Carol was being about this whole thing (Carol was high-principled by nature), but Sarah wasn’t sure she’d be able to stay quite so platonic in her touches, had their situations been reversed. 

Carol’s motions were brisk and no-nonsense, but that didn’t mean that the redhead was unaffected by the innocent physical contact. There was nothing sexual about the way Carol was touching her, but it was impossible to miss how tender the captain’s movements were, almost reverent.

Or maybe that was just her imagination. 

The smaller woman helped where she could as Carol washed her arms, legs and abdomen with little trouble, moving here and there to allow the captain better access to the point she was focusing on. Her hair and back went the same way, Carol’s fingers gently carding through the red hair in her palms. 

Sarah hummed, trying to enjoy the contact while it lasted, but it all just felt so  _ terminal _ as Carol handed her the soap to ‘finish up’. The dizziness persisted, so Carol braced her front against Sarah’s back to support the younger woman as Sarah washed her own breasts and between her legs. Carol looked pointedly away and fixed her gaze on Sarah’s bare shoulder. 

As she finished her short task, Sarah relaxed back against Carol’s chest, her nose coming to rest just under the older woman’s jaw. She nuzzled into Carol’s neck, enjoying the feel of their skin brushing against each other. Carol drew back a bit to look down into Sarah’s face, concern etched in her features. 

“Can we just pretend, for a moment, that I wasn’t poisoned, that I wasn’t dying?” Sarah whispered, before she could stop herself.

Overwhelmed by the finality of the moment, Sarah couldn’t hold herself back anymore. As Carol parted her lips to respond Sarah sighed as she reached around to tangle a hand in Carol’s drenched hair, pulling the blonde’s mouth to hers. 

Carol didn’t resist her and, though stunned, fell happily into the kiss. Sarah’s shoulders drew up as she shifted from having her arm pinned between herself and Carol to having her front press fully against Carol’s still-clothed chest. 

Their tongues clashed as Carol moaned at the feel of Sarah’s bare breasts brushing against hers. The captain wanted nothing more than to strip down and take Sarah right here, but she wouldn’t take advantage of Sarah’s situation. Even if it would be the last chance she’d have to touch the woman so intimately.

Sarah was quickly reminded of just how safe she felt, wrapped up in Carol Danvers. She groaned into Carol’s mouth, grasping at her neck and hair with both hands and tried, almost desperately, to pull her even closer. 

They reluctantly broke apart when Sarah shivered, realizing the water had gone cold. 

“Let’s get you out of here.” Carol stood assuredly, and kissed Sarah’s lips chastely as she stepped out of the stall. She set the dripping redhead on the closed toilet lid and draped one towel over her shoulders, another over her head. Briskly drying the other woman’s hair, the heat that had accumulated between the two had not dissipated, static electricity seeming to crackle in the air separating them. 

When Sarah’s hair was only damp, Carol knelt before the other woman and took the other towel from where Sarah had been drying her lower body. No longer feeling the need to avert her gaze, Carol’s laser focus on Sarah’s upper body had the redhead shuddering. The blonde took in every inch of soft skin as she gently brushed the fabric across it. 

She kissed the inside of Sarah’s wrist and murmured, “Are you sure?”

Sarah didn’t need clarification on what the older woman meant. She nodded, and drew Carol’s face to hers for another passion-fueled kiss. 

Once Carol had finished, Sarah was mostly dry, and the blonde placed Sarah gently on the bed and kissed her again before returning to the shower, realizing she forgot to turn off the water. 

By the time Carol made it back, Sarah had once again covered her chest, her shyness returning. 

“Oh, no.” Carol said playfully, rounding the edge of the bed. She stood, still in her wet clothes, in front of Sarah before she slowly undid the clasp on her suit pants. “If we’re going to do this...” The pants were on the floor, followed closely by the tight black undershirt and underwear. “I want to see all of you.”

Carol gently took Sarah’s lower arms in her hands and, giving her ample time to say ‘no’ if she really wanted, drew them away from the other woman’s beautiful chest. 

Taking in shallow breaths, Sarah shivered under Carol’s intense scrutiny. She took advantage of the moment that Carol gave her as a reprieve to finally take in Carol’s body in all its glory. Strong shoulders, generous, well-shaped breasts, a waist that flared gracefully into feminine hips...But God, Carol’s  _ abs _ . Sarah was sure it was obvious how much her gaze lingered on Carol’s torso more than anywhere else. The woman’s whole body was a work of art, no question, but Sarah wasn’t surprised that the definition in Carol’s midsection caught and held her attention the most. She couldn’t wait to get her mouth on them.

Carol wasn’t unaffected by Sarah’s laser-like focus on her form. The usually confident blonde, who was very aware of how attractive she was, felt the unfamiliar urge to fidget under the gaze of the gorgeous woman before her.

“Beautiful.” Carol spoke her thoughts, fixing her heavy-lidded gaze on Sarah’s nude form as she crawled on the bed and towards the other woman. “So beautiful.”

The blonde took Sarah’s knees and guided them to fall to either side of her hips as she slid between them. “This okay?” She asked Sarah. 

Sarah nodded shakily. “ _ Yes. _ ” She could barely breathe, her chest rising and falling with quick pants, then occasionally gasping as Carol began to worship her neck. The captain licked and nipped at the soft skin that adorned the redhead’s neck, adoring the sweet, sweet sounds of pleasure that escaped Sarah’s lips. Carol felt the vibrations of Sarah’s moans from her place at her pulse point, and she reveled in the idea of making Sarah become louder and louder in her satisfaction. Her hands moved to Sarah’s breasts, kneading them firmly and tweaking her nipples. 

Sarah arched into Carol, her knees welding themselves to Carol’s hips to press her closer. 

Carol followed her hands downwards, placing gentle bites down the column of Sarah’s throat before settling at her chest. The blonde moaned at the steady gyration of Sarah’s hips that had begun against her abdomen. It made it hard to completely focus on what she was doing. 

The younger woman’s hands clutched at Carol’s head at her breast, groaning when Carol looked up at her with the most lascivious grin on her face. 

“Oh-  _ Carol. _ ” Sarah gasped. She loved the weight of the strong woman on top of her; she could feel the definition of Carol’s abs against her center. 

_ Good God... _

With one hand, the blonde fondled one breast while sucking her other nipple into her mouth, earning a hiss of pleasure from the woman beneath her. Her other hand wandered down and between their bodies and she stopped just short of the other woman’s center. 

“Okay?” She inquired softly, briefly pausing in her attentions and glancing up into Sarah’s eyes.

Or tried to, as Sarah had her head thrown back and was pushing at the shoulder attached to the fingers that had halted at her hip. 

She nodded her head rapidly. “Yes, Carol.  _ God,  _ yes.” Sarah opened her eyes for a moment and got lost in the soft chocolate brown of Carol’s eyes. She wound her fingers through Carol’s short hair and yanked her back up for a hungry kiss, their sighs of pleasure echoing each other. 

Carol’s right hand continued its descent, and finally the blonde was right where Sarah wanted her. Or almost there. 

“Inside, Carol.” Sarah gasped wantonly at the feel of Carol’s fingers softly running through her slit and finding the wetness that had gathered there. “Please-I need you inside.”

“You are  _ drenched _ ,” Carol murmured into Sarah’s lips in a brief moment as they separated to breathe. “So wet, baby.”

Sarah tried to thrust her hips up into Carol’s questing fingers, as if that would coax the strongest Avenger to just get on with it.

She should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. 

Carol seemed to enjoy her struggle, and pressed kiss after pleased kiss on Sarah’s jaw and neck. “Patience, starlight.” She purred. Carol winked salaciously as her mouth continued its path down Sarah’s body, peppering her body with small licks and bites along the way. “I’ll make it good, I promise.” 

The blonde always made sure to soothe any nips she delivered to Sarah’s skin with her lips and tongue, and the redhead seemed to enjoy the sensations immensely. 

As Carol made it to her hip and began sucking a mark into her skin with her teeth and tongue, Sarah contemplated how long she’d last. It had been a while for her, but even if that weren’t true, she knew it wouldn’t be long after Carol had her mouth on her that she would be begging to come. Somehow she figured Carol might enjoy that, too. 

She already couldn’t wait for her turn to make Carol beg. 

Sarah pulled demandingly on Carol’s hair, trying to force her to where she needed her. “C’mon, Carol.” She whispered. “Please.” 

As much as Carol loved to take her time, she took pity on the woman writhing before her and gave one last lick to the mark she’d made on Sarah’s hip before moving to her left. 

“And Carol?” The woman looked up. “Don’t bother being gentle.”

She fought an uncharacteristic wave of dizziness at the evidence of Sarah’s desire for her. “ _ Jesus,  _ Sarah.”

The woman in question nearly screamed at the first touch of Carol’s tongue against her clit. Carol didn’t stay there long, and licked from her opening and back to her clit, lavishing it with attention. 

Sarah felt like her body was on  _ fire,  _ she wanted Carol so much. Her body was pulled taut as a wound spring when Carol finally entered her. The blonde’s mouth was sucking at her clit, her tongue moving in the most libidinous patterns that made her legs shake and her hands pull violently at Carol’s hair. Sarah was never so thankful that Carol wasn’t an easily injured human more than at that moment. 

Carol loved hearing Sarah chant her name like a prayer. She thought it was the most gratifying sound she’d ever heard. 

“ _ Fuck _ , Carol.” 

...Until that.

Carol moaned loudly into Sarah’s center as she heard the redhead swear. Hearing the normally-subdued scientist curse as she lost herself in her pleasure was such a paradox...and  _ such  _ a turn-on.

The smaller woman was nearly overcome with sensation; it felt like Carol was everywhere at once. At one point she swore that Carol sent the tiniest shock from her fingers and into her clit, but then the blonde began to thrust into her so hard that her body shook with the force and she forgot all about Carol’s clever use of her power. 

“I’m going to-” Sarah tried to warn Carol. “I’m- _ fuck. _ ”

“ _ Yes,  _ baby.” Carol breathed from her place between Sarah’s legs. “Come for me, baby. Come for me.”

The resulting sharp yank on her hair and strangled moan from above her made her grin as she latched back on to Sarah’s clit.

Sarah felt alive. Which was crazy, considering she was-

Her eyes snapped open as she took stock of her body. Even with her climax mere seconds away, she used the hand she had, only moments before, been tugging Carol’s mouth closer as she thrust her fingers inside her to shove the hero away.

“Carol, stop.  _ Stop! _ ” 

The blonde immediately tore her lips away from Sarah’s core, wondering what had the other woman so upset. 

“What?” She asked, eyes wide. “What’s wrong?” 

Sarah fought to catch her breath as her body screamed at her for denying her that orgasm. “I- feel good.” In contrast to her words, she made a point to remove all points of contact with the woman in her bed.

Carol gave her a disbelieving look. “Well, thank God I haven’t lost my touch, then.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Sarah put her own hand over her chest, feeling her heart slow. “I feel... _ fine. _ ”

The blonde had followed the movement closely with her eyes. “Sarah?”

“Carol,” Sarah whispered, beaming. “I’m okay.”

The other woman’s eyes widened as she finally caught Sarah’s meaning. 

_ She’s okay.  _ “You’re  _ okay! _ ” Carol smiled widely, elated. “How?” 

Sarah shook her head. “I have no idea.” She considered how she’d felt just minutes before, skin-to-skin with Carol, overwhelmed with energy that seemed to have been coming from...

“Hold out your hand for a second.” Sarah told Carol. 

Carol looked confused at the sudden request, but didn’t deny her. 

“I need you to be detailed in exactly how you feel, okay?” Sarah said, seeing Carol nod.

The smaller woman slowly placed her hand in Carol’s, watching very closely. The moment Sarah’s fingertips made contact with Carol’s palm, the gold and faint blue hues that were the trademark of the captain’s binary form appeared. Even the thrumming sound that occurred when Carol used her powers was present. 

“That’s my photon energy.” Carol said, curious.

“Do you feel any different?” 

Carol tilted her head. Now that Sarah mentioned it, she did feel a little less overpowered than normal. Usually she had more power than she knew what to do with stored within her body. She certainly didn’t feel like she was at full power at this moment, but she didn’t feel weak either. Carol shrugged in answer to Sarah’s question, telling her as much.

“I think I’m...draining you.” It seemed that Sarah voiced the theory as soon as it crossed her mind because as she spoke, she snatched her hand from Carol’s. 

Carol wasn’t having any of that, drawing the retreating woman back. “Hey.” She made sure she had Sarah’s full attention before she continued, “I don’t know what’s going on here. But even if you were draining me,  _ I wouldn’t care. _ ” Sarah tried to look away, but Carol reached out and cradled the younger woman’s face in her palms, her hands beginning to glow. “You’re fine now...That makes it worth it...You know?”

“Besides,” Carol continued, watching her signature colors frame and flicker across the other woman’s face. “You look beautiful like this...So  _ alive. _ ”

Carol was flipped on her back before she even knew what was happening. She looked up, stunned, at the woman now straddling her, her red hair glowing in the light from Carol’s body like a newly-risen phoenix. 

“Luckily,” Sarah murmured with a smirk. “I know  _ just _ what to do with that.”

_ Shit. _

The low purr that Sarah’s voice had dropped to, paired with the steady, deliberate way she began to circle her hips into Carol’s midsection. The blonde’s core was flexed tight from anticipation alone, but when Sarah started that leisurely grind against her, Carol felt a headrush from the sensation. 

_ I might be in trouble here. _

The woman above her took her time, as if she were dancing unhurriedly to a song that only she could hear. Carol’s breath caught in her chest as Sarah leaned down as if to kiss her. The captain arched up to meet her, but Sarah stopped inches short of her lips, instead laughing softly and latching on to Carol’s jaw and neckline. 

_ Yup, definitely in trouble. _

Sarah didn’t bother holding back, either. Bites and caresses that would be considered harsh on a normal human were just rough enough for Carol to not only feel them, but enjoy them a great deal. The smaller woman seemed to know just what Carol liked. She ran her hands from Carol’s chest to cup her neck, pulling her hair to tilt Carol’s head back to give her more room. The marks that were made wouldn’t last long due to Carol’s accelerated healing factor, but Carol wouldn’t trade the thrill of feeling Sarah worship her neck and collarbone for anything. 

Carol felt Sarah stroke her hands across her shoulders and down her arms, taking one hand in each of hers. She raised their joined fingers to be level with Carol’s head and leaned her weight into the woman’s wrists. 

“Don’t move, now.” Carol sucked in a breath. The fucking tease. Sarah kissed her way back down Carol’s body, pausing once to nip at the blonde’s quivering abdominals. She licked at the skin there, tasting salt and something she knew was uniquely Carol, to soothe away any lingering pain. Unnecessary, they both knew, but damn if it didn’t feel good. 

The second Sarah put her mouth on her, Carol forgot all about how she was supposed to be keeping still (because since when did Carol Danvers ever do what people expected?); she didn’t last more than half a minute before her hands shot down to grasp at the red strands hovering between her legs. Sarah moaned once at Carol’s fingers tangling through her hair, but nonetheless took her tongue away from where she had just tasted the blonde for the first time. God, she already felt close again.

But first thing’s first. She wondered how Captain Marvel would respond to a little power play. There was only one way to find out. 

Sarah firmly took Carol’s hands that were in her hair, mussing it even further, and kissed the blonde’s wrists tenderly before interlacing their fingers together. She kept a hold on Carol’s hands as she rose sedately from between the blonde’s legs, ignoring the whine that left Carol’s throat when Sarah had pulled her mouth away. 

Letting out a sigh of mock annoyance, she said (half-jokingly), “Do I need to tie you up to keep you from moving?”

A groan tore through Carol’s lips before she could stop it.  _ Holy- _

“Oh my god, you’d  _ like _ that, wouldn’t you?” Sarah giggled, breaking ‘character’. “That’s...unexpected.” 

“I’m full of surprises.” Carol was only slightly embarrassed at her blatant interest in what Sarah had suggested. 

_ Full of something.  _ Sarah grinned. She couldn’t wait to find out what else the strongest woman in the universe was into. 

“Something to explore at a later date, then.” She slowly released her grasp on Carol’s hands in favor of skimming her own palms over Carol’s generous breasts, kneading them gently. 

“Sarah, please.” Carol laughed breathily as she tried to arch her hips up into Sarah. 

The researcher gave one last pinch to each of Carol’s nipples before sighing. 

“Only because you asked so nicely.” Sarah teased. She didn’t know how much more teasing she could take herself, to be honest. 

Sarah didn’t waste any time getting back where Carol needed her most. Carol tracked the woman’s every move with her eyes, clenching her jaw as a close-mouthed whimper escaped her. 

The redhead couldn’t get enough of this woman’s enthusiastic reactions to her touch. Carol’s face was flushed and she was breathing hard, which was obviously not a usual thing for her. 

As Carol inched closer and closer to her climax, she got progressively louder. She was not a quiet person by nature (a fact that Maria had lamented more than once), but in the bedroom, Carol held nothing back. Sarah (quite literally, she cheekily thought to herself) ate the sounds up as she drove Carol closer to the edge. 

“ _ Yes. _ God, Sarah.” Carol moaned as she tried to grind her hips further into Sarah’s questing tongue. 

“Are you gonna come for me?”

“Yeah, baby.” The older woman shook, clenching the sheets in her fists. “Fuck, I’m close.” 

Sarah took Carol hard and fast, just as she suspected the blonde preferred it. 

“Come for me, Carol.” Sarah growled, curling her fingers from where they were buried knuckle-deep inside her lover. Her other hand alternated between Carol’s right and left breasts, roughly tweaking and fondling the perfect globes. 

Carol crested over her peak with a shout, clamping down hard on Sarah’s fingers. Her head thrashed from side to side as the smaller woman between her legs worked her through her high. 

Breathing hard, Carol lay back, dazed, as her body relaxed lethargically into the mattress. 

_ Holy shit. The woman actually wore me out.  _ She couldn’t remember the last time she had to catch her breath after sex. 

“Get up here.” 

Sarah hummed contentedly as she continued to lap at Carol’s center, stroking up and down the blonde’s thighs and abdomen. She fluidly started kissing her way back up Carol’s body (the grip that the blonde had taken on her hair may have influenced her decision somewhat). Sarah made sure she had Carol’s attention before she sucked her fingers clean. 

Carol kissed her lover hungrily at the sight, groaning at the taste of her own pleasure on Sarah’s tongue. She murmured a soft, “ _ Thank you. _ ” between them as they parted. Sarah sighed into Carol’s mouth, reveling in the sated body language that was radiating off the blonde. 

“I can’t believe I just let you top me.”

_ Let me?  _ Sarah giggled. “You’re just such a natural bottom, sweetheart.” 

Carol rolled her eyes. They both knew that wasn’t even remotely true, especially outside the bedroom, but Carol of all people could recognize a joke when she heard one. 

Sarah didn’t seem in any hurry to have Carol return the favor. She looked completely content to keep pressing affectionate kisses here and there along Carol’s face and chest. The younger woman nuzzled her cheek into Carol’s neck, and the blonde lifted her head to kiss her again, taking the other woman’s face in her hands. 

“Mmm.” 

“Your turn.” Carol had moved her hands down to palm Sarah’s ass. She grasped the redhead’s hips and pulled. 

Sarah let out a surprised squeal at Carol literally  _ lifting  _ her, bringing her lower body up to straddle the blonde’s chest. The younger woman’s face turned as red as her hair when she realized what Carol intended. 

“Oh don’t get all shy on me now, starlight.” Carol chuckled. “I might have believed you before if you’d told me you’d never sat on someone’s face...but not after tonight.”

Carol had purposely set Sarah on her chest, just in case she was truly not comfortable with what the captain was suggesting. But if she was being honest, her impatient nature was starting to catch up with her; she couldn’t wait much longer to taste Sarah, to please her.

“I figured, since I can’t move, thanks to you...” She wiggled her eyebrows depravedly. They both knew Carol could move if she really wanted to. 

“Okay, I  _ have  _ done it before...” Sarah admitted. “I just never ask on the first night.”

“Well, good thing you’re not the one asking, then.” Carol joked, lightly slapping her hands to Sarah’s hips in encouragement. “I’m letting you know I’m open to it....Hell, I’m  _ into _ it...but it doesn’t have to be tonight.” 

Sarah laughed.  _ My hero. _ She leaned down to passionately capture the blonde’s lips once more. 

“Guess I shouldn’t keep you waiting, then.” 

Carol chuckled, grinning. “Buckle up, baby.”

Sarah reciprocated the grin as she moved forward, planting her shins on either side of Carol’s head. The redhead watched as Carol brought her sculpted arms up to clamp over her thighs, trapping them in their current position. Her right hand reached around to play with Sarah’s clit as Carol wasted no time in thrusting inside the woman above her. 

The blonde let out a moan as she tasted Sarah for the first time, and Sarah felt the vibrations of her lover’s reaction flow straight into her clit, making her shudder and clutch at the headboard for balance. Carol was fixated by the sight of the normally-docile woman that was now riding her face with abandon. She knew it wouldn’t take much for her to come again, at this rate.

As if she had read Carol’s mind, the writhing woman on top of her released the headboard and reached behind her to begin playing with Carol’s clit again, using her other hand on the blonde’s bent knee for balance. 

At the touch of Sarah’s fingers against her already sensitive center, Carol gave a loud moan of appreciation, doubling her efforts to fully ravish her lover. 

Sarah finally came, chanting Carol’s name like a prayer. Though she was much quieter than Carol as the blonde followed her over the edge, there was no mistaking the boneless satisfaction in their bodies as Sarah slumped forward. Carol caught the lightly convulsing woman and cradled her to her chest as Sarah shifted to not accidentally smother Carol. Their lips met in an uncoordinated, but satiated, kiss. 

“God.” Sarah sighed. 

“Pretty sure God had nothing to do with it.” Carol joked, wrapping her arm around Sarah as she snuggled into her chest. Their breathing calmed steadily and Sarah giggled as the blonde dropped a kiss on the top of her head. 

“So I can call you my girlfriend now, right?” Carol asked after a moment. 

_ I love how straightforward she is.  _ The redhead laughed, turning from her place on Carol’s shoulder so she could look the strongest Avenger in the eyes. 

“Gosh, I don’t know, Carol.” She smiled teasingly. “My brain’s a little fried right now.”

The blonde grinned cheekily. “That good, huh?” 

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Yes, Carol.” She leaned in to press her lips to Carol’s. “Yes to both.” 

“Lucky me.” Carol gave a  _ yes!  _ gesture with her fist and Sarah laughed through their kiss at Carol’s quip. 

They felt themselves gearing up for round two when-

“ _ Sarah! _ ” 

A loud banging noise at the front door sounded, and Sarah recognized her brother’s voice. The pair looked at each other sheepishly before dissolving in a fit of laughter. 

_ Whoops. _

* * *

The room was dark and quiet, just like how he preferred everything, he supposed.

Sitting in a cold, desolate place would have bothered him once, but he was so used to the void now. It had become a comfort, meditating with his mind closed to everything around him,save for his own thoughts, his mission. 

Because all that mattered was the mission. It was what he lived for, all he dreamt of.

He used to think about the day his job would be over, of the day he could rest. That was a long time ago, too long for him to believe that the day would ever actually come. 

_ No! _

The man squeezed his eyes shut, his pained expression the only indication that he felt anything at all. He heard Dahlia’s final scream on a daily basis, but in a roundabout way, it kept him going, reminding him of what he was fighting for. These ‘partial-bloods’ didn’t belong anywhere, they had no business existing in the first place. His darling daughter would still be alive, if not for them. 

He could still picture her face in his mind. Sweet Dahlia. She hadn’t met the strict criteria that Attilan enforced to qualify for exposure to their Terrigen Mist. But even so, since Inhumans were immune to human diseases and aged at a much slower rate, she could have lived forever, in theory. 

Or she might have, if not for that damn fool. 

“Hey!” A voice shouted, breaking the silence that surrounded the man. 

_ Speaking of fools.  _ His slight irritation didn’t show on his face, but he didn’t think that the idiot striding into his sanctum would care if it did. 

“I thought you said you were going to kill her when you attacked SHIELD today.”

“I said I would take care of it.” The man drawled. “Do not concern yourself with how.”

“Captain Marvel is back.” Nevis pointed out. 

A raised brow was all Nevis received in response. 

“You’re not worried about her?” 

“That woman won’t be a problem.”

“How can you be sure?”

The man ignored Nevis’ question, electing to turn back around to continue his meditation. 

“Do not engage her.” The man threw over his shoulder, effectively dismissing the other man with his body language. “You could never hope to be a match for her.”

Nevis growled in frustration at the brush-off and stormed out, swearing under his breath. 

The man wasn’t concerned. Not about that fool’s tantrum, and not about the famed “Captain Marvel”. She was one of the most powerful creatures in the universe, but she could be useful to him, if properly utilized. And, oh, did he have a plan for that. 

After all, a Revisionist always had a plan. 


	6. Levitating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah trains with her new powers and Carol has some reservations about her lover being used tactically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short interlude/continuation. Figured this was as good a place as any to give y'all a brief update.

“Again!”

Sarah tried not to flinch at the amount of power being thrown her way. Wanda’s hands glowed red from the residual power that had been imparted to her via the Mind Infinity Stone. The beautiful Sokovian’s eyes mirrored the color of her hands as they swirled to form a wave of energy that was sent straight at Sarah’s head. 

After Carol had used the Mad Titan’s gauntlet to reverse the infamous ‘Snap’, Wanda, along with her lover Vision and everyone else that had been erased, had come back to get a second chance at the life they’d left behind. Natasha’s life had been spared, and everyone that had lost family members and friends returned to life as normal (as normal as one could when they had been snapped out of existence and then snapped back in). 

The smaller redhead threw up her arms to cross over her chest in a blocking posture, bracing her feet under her. An electric blue light sparked before her, and the red wave of power stopped short of her form, dissipating into nothing as it made contact with the barrier she’d created. 

Several floors higher, in the observation bay, Carol couldn’t stop her shoulders from tensing as Sarah’s barrier was struck again and again by Wanda’s attacks. After this much training, she would’ve thought that she’d have been used to seeing her lover in a fight. To be honest, when Sarah had first suggested that she train to control her newfound powers, the blonde had assumed she’d find the image of a sparring Sarah to be hot as hell. And she had, at first. 

Now she just wished it would stop. 

“You never look this worried about anything.” Natasha quipped from the door as she approached. 

“No?” Carol didn’t look away from her lover’s form as she trained below.

“Serious? Yes. Cocky? Absolutely. Concerned?” The other woman made a ‘ _ meh _ ’ gesture with her shoulders. “Never.”

“Fury wants to put her on a mission rotation.”

“And?”

“She’s a scientist.” Carol finally tore her eyes away from Sarah and fixed Natasha with a skeptical glance. “A researcher.”

“So you don’t think she’s tough enough.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “It’s not about being tough.”

Carol remembered the day Sarah had discovered this new facet to her powers. They had been conducting tests all week (at Sarah’s request) to find out how much energy she could absorb. Sarah found that there was no limit to how much energy she could take into her body and store, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t force the energy back out at will. 

Or so she’d thought. Then the next week, as she’d been preparing dinner at Carol’s place, Goose had taken to laying up on top of the cabinets to watch Sarah as she cooked. Carol found it endearing, but Sarah didn’t want to deal with cat hair in her food, so she’d shooed the flerken off the landing. As the animal jumped down, her tail knocked over a vase on accident and Sarah had thrown her hands out to reach for Goose, even though she knew she wasn’t quick enough to reach her in time. Blue energy had sparked around the animal and the vase shattered above Goose’s head instead of on it. The flerken had yowled and sprinted away, completely unhurt, but Sarah’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding. 

She had sought out Wanda the next day to ask her to train with her on her off time. Sarah still couldn’t use her powers in an offensive way, but she could create remarkably strong barriers with her stored energy. Carol had even (reluctantly) sparred with her lover once, using almost half of her ‘ridiculous’ (Tony’s words, not hers) amount of power. 

And that had been after a week. Carol knew that with time, it was possible that Sarah’s barriers might be able to withstand even  _ her  _ at full power. It also meant that Sarah had the potential to be very useful on SHIELD missions. 

But that didn’t mean Carol had to like it.

“Nat, she’s not like me.” She glanced at the redhead. “Like us. We’ve had years of training, experience; we have the temperament for it. Not to mention her powers can’t be used offensively.” What if Sarah ran out of energy and was completely defenseless during a mission? Or she met someone that was able to break her barriers like they were nothing? Carol’s mind swam with the nauseating possibilities. 

Natasha looked out the observation window and back to the blonde beside her, smirking as Captain Marvel winced at seeing her lover fighting. “Have you asked her how she feels about all this?”

Carol sighed. “She’ll want to help.”

_ So that’s a ‘no’. _

“Isn’t she still working on her teleportation project?”

The blonde nodded. “But she’s close to finishing that up; it’s just a matter of time.”

“Then you still have time to figure it out.”

The pair below them on the sparring mats stopped and approached each other. Sarah was beaming and nodded to something Wanda was saying, probably some tip or another. The shorter redhead followed Wanda as the Sokovian turned to leave, and suddenly looked up, as if she’d known Carol had been watching all along. The smile that she sent Carol’s way seemed to light up her entire face, and only seemed to brighten the blonde’s world as she smiled and waved back.

“You two are still coming to that gathering Tony set up, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Carol said absently, her eyes still fixed on her girlfriend. Sarah hadn’t moved, and they both just kept staring at each other, grinning like a pair of idiots. 

Natasha rolled her eyes, laughing.  _ These two.  _

Eventually Sarah ‘lost’ the playful staring contest that she had started with her partner, as she had a meeting with Director Fury. 

But first, she needed a shower, so she mouthed ‘ _ locker room _ ’ to her girlfriend who still stood on the observation deck, and pointed in that direction. She waved as she turned to leave.

Carol nodded and, reading her lips, grinned as she tore through the room upstairs, nearly barreling over Natasha, who had been standing next to her. 

Sarah giggled. _ Guess Carol forgot Nat was standing there? _

The locker room was empty by the time Sarah got there, and she took her time getting undressed, throwing her clothes in the bag she’d stored in the locker. She’d already hung up her clean change of clothes so she hummed to the song that was playing loudly over the speakers overhead. The song had quickly become one of her favorites; it reminded her so much of Carol. 

_ If you wanna run away with me, I know a galaxy _

_ And I could take you for a ride _

_ I had a premonition that we fell into a rhythm _

_ Where the music don't stop for life _

_ Glitter in the sky, glitter in my eye _

_ Shining just the way I like _

_ If you feeling like you need a little bit of company _

_ You met me at the perfect time _

_ You want me, I want you, baby _

_ My sugar boo, I'm levitating _

_ The milky way, we're renegading _

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah _

Sarah swayed and moved to the music, smiling happily at such a simple pleasure as dancing half-naked in an empty locker room to a favorite song. 

_ I got you, moonlight _

_ You're my starlight _

_ I need you all night _

_ Come on, dance with me _

_ I'm levitating _

_ You, moonlight _

_ You're my starlight _

_ I need you all night _

_ Come on, dance with me _

_ I'm levitating _

Unbeknownst to the redhead currently jamming out across the way, her lover had entered the locker room half-way through the chorus and had been watching as Sarah wiggled and shimmied in a way that had no business being as sexy as the blonde Avenger found it. Carol saw no reason to announce her presence just yet, so she leaned against the wall and watched Sarah enjoy herself, laughing gaily at the ‘my starlight’ lyric. 

_ I believe that you're for me, I feel it in our energy _

_ I see us written in the stars _

_ We can go wherever, so let's do it now or never _

_ Baby, nothing's ever ever too far _

_ Glitter in the sky, glitter in our eyes _

_ Shining just the way we are _

_ I feel like we're forever every time we get together _

_ But whatever, let's get lost on Mars _

Sarah had gathered her things for her shower and had hopped around goofily. The sight of Carol leaning against the opposite wall, grinning like a cheshire cat, should have given her pause, but she just laughed, not embarrassed at all, and set down her shower bag, crooking a finger at the blonde to beckon her closer. 

_ You want me, I want you, baby _

_ My sugar boo, I'm levitating _

_ The milky way, we're renegading _

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah _

_ I got you, moonlight _

_ You're my starlight _

_ I need you all night _

_ Come on, dance with me _

_ I'm levitating _

_ You, moonlight _

_ You're my starlight _

_ I need you all night _

_ Come on, dance with me _

_ I'm levitating _

Carol didn’t need to have heard the song a hundred times like Sarah had to be able to move with the sound of the beat overhead. Sarah gave the blonde a sultry look and reached for the top clasp on Carol’s suit. Carol moved with her, slowly helping Sarah strip her down to only her bra and suit pants. 

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ Baby, let me take you for a ride _

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah _

_ I'm levitating (woo) _

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ Baby let me take you for a ride _

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah _

Sarah leaned her back into Carol’s chest, enjoying the feel of the taller woman’s arms around her. She ground teasingly against Carol’s front, prompting the blonde’s hands to wander from her hips up to the front of her rib cage. She tilted her head to the side, feeling Carol brush her lips coaxingly over the skin of her neck. Sarah turned around and placed a gentle kiss on Carol’s lips, draping her arms over the taller woman’s shoulders. 

“Mm.” Carol moaned. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, starlight.”

“I have no idea what you mean.” The redhead shot her a saucy smile that belied her innocent words.

“Literally anyone could walk in.”

Sarah gave her a look. “Like that’s ever stopped you before.” 

True enough. Carol had absolutely no qualms about semi-public sex; she found it rather exciting, even more so when she realized Sarah was into an occasional sexual escapade as well. So, no, the setting wouldn’t ever be what stopped her. But only because Carol  _ always  _ locked the door when they got started. 

_ You want me, I want you, baby _

_ My sugar boo, I'm levitating _

_ The milky way, we're renegading _

Sighing, Carol gave her lover a look, reluctantly pulling away, but not before stealing one last chaste kiss from Sarah’s lips. Though the door was only feet away, she hated to let Sarah go. Sarah seemed to know exactly what she was thinking, too, because she wore an adoring smile as she turned, picked up her shower bag, and padded to the showers. 

Carol was sure the sway in Sarah’s stride was no accident. 

_ I got you, moonlight _

_ You're my starlight _

_ I need you all night _

_ Come on dance with me _

_ I'm levitating (woo) _

Carol flicked the lock on the door and before Sarah knew what was happening, strong arms had wrapped back around her waist and brought her back against a now-naked form. Carol felt so warm, the water she’d started seemed tepid in comparison. They both laughed, and Carol kissed her way down Sarah’s neck, loving the moan that the smaller woman let out as she pressed her ass further into Carol’s front. 

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ Baby, let me take you for a ride _

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah _

_ I'm levitating (woo) _

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ You can fly away with me tonight _

_ Baby, let me take you for a ride _

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah _

Sarah let out a delighted squeal as Carol lifted her off the ground with ease and drove her back into the shower stall. She clung to Carol, one arm around the blonde’s strong shoulders, and the other hand wrapped in the blonde hair at her fingertips, tugging to angle Carol’s head in another direction. They couldn’t seem to get close enough, and a ragged groan tore through Sarah’s throat as she felt Carol enter her. 

She loved feeling this close to Carol, she didn’t want it to ever stop.

_ I got you, moonlight _

_ You're my starlight _

_ I need you all night _

_ Come on, dance with me _

_ I'm levitating _

_ You, moonlight _

_ You're my starlight _

_ I need you all night _

_ Come on, dance with me _

_ I'm levitating _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES, I changed the canon ending of Endgame because it’s my story and the ending for   
> Endgame was a complete cop-out that was born out of contract expiration dates. So here we are lol Carol was the clear choice after Bruce to wear the gauntlet (I mean either she’s the strongest Avenger or she isn’t!!)  
> Also I just couldn’t get ‘Levitating’ by Dua Lipa out of my head and go figure she calls someone her ‘starlight’ in the song...what a great coincidence, I just had to add that in xDD you should definitely listen to that while reading that scene. *fans myself* I certainly did hehe  
> Hope you all enjoyed! Only a few chapters left!


	7. Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first fight and Tony's party

Sarah was sure Fury could see the glow radiating off her skin as she entered his office. If he did, the man said nothing, simply looked up from his computer and handed her the folder she’d asked for. 

“Thanks for doing this.” She said. 

He shrugged. “The more comfortable you are with your powers, the more of an asset you’ll be.”

“What?”

The pair looked to the door where Carol had just walked in. 

“Carol.” Sarah smiled at the sight of her girlfriend as the blonde approached. “We were just discussing- 

The captain held up a hand before Sarah could finish, hardly even glancing Sarah’s way as she rudely cut her off. ” _You’re sending her out?”_

Fury gave her an exasperated look, eyebrows raised. “Dr. Williams has new abilities that will-”

“She’s not tactically trained, Fury.” Carol growled. “She’ll be killed!”

Sarah, for her part, balked in astonishment at the finger that her lover had held to her face. Cold disappointment settled in her stomach as Carol continued to rant to Fury about all the reasons she wasn’t going to ‘let’ him throw Sarah to the wolves. 

As if the decision of whether or not Sarah got involved in tactical missions of SHIELD were anyone’s but Sarah’s.

Without another word (not that Carol had let her get one in edgewise anyhow), the researcher turned and walked to the door. She heard Carol stop talking and halted at the door.

“I’m going home.” Carol was neither oblivious nor stupid, Sarah knew the blonde would be able to clearly make out the discontent on her face. “When you’re finished,” she bit out, “I’ll see you there later.”

Carol’s brows furrowed as she watched her girlfriend leave the room, her posture stiff. 

Fury scoffed, turning back to his paperwork. “Well, that was probably the dumbest thing I’ve seen in a while.”

Snapping her gaze back to her old friend, Carol glowered. “What? What’d I do?”

“I’m no expert, but cutting your girlfriend off like that...” His expression clearly said what the man hadn’t out loud: _I wouldn’t._

Cocking her head, the blonde seemed to contemplate how her actions might have been interpreted. In seconds, she was turning and following out the door Sarah had exited not minutes before. 

Fury scoffed again before focusing back on the work in front of him.

Pausing at the door, Carol briefly glanced back. “You’re not sending her out, are you?”

“Go talk to your girlfriend, Carol.” The man didn’t even bother to look up from his task. 

Carol huffed as she pulled the door open. 

* * *

Since they were now officially a couple, Sarah and Carol had agreed that they would arrive at Tony's party together. Carol stopped by her own quarters to pick up her things before heading to Sarah’s apartment. Sarah had beaten her home by the time she got there (Carol may or may not have dawdled a bit to give herself more time to think of what to say...She’d even picked up apology flowers along the way.)

She knew Sarah was mad, but she really didn’t see why. She hadn’t meant to cut her off, but Carol wouldn’t put it past Fury to take advantage of Sarah’s sweet and generous nature to get what he wanted, whether she was ready or not. And Sarah would never be ‘ready’, if Carol had anything to say about it. 

She landed softly on Sarah’s balcony, but made sure to make enough noise to alert her lover to her arrival. 

Sarah looked up from the information that Fury had given her as she heard the balcony door open. Plucking her wine glass up from the table, she rose to greet her lover. 

As she entered from the balcony, Carol shut the door behind her and turned to be greeted with the sight of her girlfriend approaching with a small (albeit a bit strained) smile. 

“Hi.”

“...Hey.” Carol was unsure of what to say. “Look, I know you’re mad.” She held out the flowers awkwardly. “So...here.” 

Sarah almost laughed at the captain’s discomfort; she was normally so self-assured. She thanked the blonde for the flowers and moved to put them in a vase. Sarah would bet that Carol had next to no idea what she was even apologizing for (not that this had been a formal apology, but still). 

“Carol, I’m not mad.” The avenger’s shoulders seemed to relax minutely. “I’m...disappointed, that’s all. I do think that we need to talk about it.”

Sarah spoke in a soft, measured voice she turned and gestured towards the kitchen. She offered Carol something to drink, which she (predictably) declined. It wasn’t until they were both settled on the couch that Sarah spoke again. 

“I can’t remember the last time my opinion was brushed off like that.” Sarah’s words were calm and without accusation, but Carol still felt the unfamiliar feeling of guilt well up in her chest. “I was embarrassed. That’s why I was upset; I thought you would want to hear what I had to say.”

“I do!” Carol argued. “But I wasn’t about to let Fury talk you into something you aren’t ready for.”

“He wasn’t.”

The blonde, caught off-guard, stayed silent, an inquisitive look on her face. 

Sarah stood and retrieved the folder Fury had given her, handing it to her girlfriend. 

“If you had let me finish back then,” She said gently. “I was about to explain everything.”

Almost hesitantly, Carol took the file and flipped through its pages, skimming their contents.

“The Inhumans?”

The redhead nodded, replying, “I asked the Director for access to their information.” She took a seat next to Carol and looked over her shoulder. “They’re probably the only ones that could give me any insight into my powers.” 

Her lover paused in perusing the file. “So you’re not...” She cringed. “Fury’s not sending you into the field?” 

Snorting, Sarah shook her head. “Uhm- no.” She shifted as she grasped her wine glass, bringing it to her lips. “I don’t think I’m cut out for that kind of work. People like you and Natasha- people with actual _training,_ are much more suited to that sort of thing.” She watched as Carol seemed to deflate with relief. “But if I ever decided that’s what I wanted...you realize that’s not your call, right?”

Carol nodded. “You know I’m only looking out for you. I have your best interests at heart, here.” 

“I’ve been looking after my own best interests for a _very_ long time.” Sarah said sternly. “I don’t need you for that.”

The blonde smirked. “Fair enough.” Still feeling a little off-kilter, but trying desperately not to show it, she leaned closer, her voice taking on a seductive lilt. “So, what _do_ you need me for?”

Sarah huffed out a laugh and just like that, the awkwardness dissipated. She gave Carol an unimpressed look without responding before rising from the couch, taking her wine glass with her. She made a beeline for the bathroom to finish getting ready for Tony’s party. 

Two hours later, the pair rode to Stark Tower in the limo Tony had sent to collect them after dressing in complementary colors. Even though the silence they had gotten ready in had been relatively comfortable, Carol still felt a bit uneasy. She was unsure of where they stood now. It hadn’t been much of a first fight, but she thought it still qualified as a ‘fight’...didn’t it? Carol didn’t want to lose Sarah over something so petty. She didn’t want to lose Sarah at all. 

The redhead, dressed in a beautiful navy blue gown, hummed as she shifted so the outsides of her thighs brushed Carol’s. Her lover had been so tense the past few hours, and Sarah had a feeling that the blonde felt worse about their disagreement than was really warranted. Now all she wanted was to see that tension melt away. 

“Maybe,” She purred as she laid a hand lightly on Carol’s thigh. “We should discuss what I _do_ need you for.”

Carol grinned, immediately catching her meaning. “Yeah?” She closed the distance separating her and Sarah, her lips coming within inches of Sarah’s. 

“Mhm.” Her hand was just about to slip into the waistband of Carol’s slacks when the car stopped. 

Sarah sighed, smiling. “Later, then.” She pressed a loving kiss to the corner of Carol’s mouth, minding Carol’s lipstick (Sarah had introduced her to a smear-proof brand, but it was better safe than sorry).

Smirking as she watched her girlfriend gracefully exit the car, Carol quipped, 

“Is it later yet?”

* * *

Sarah hated these events. The introverted woman was more comfortable around a smaller group that she knew and trusted. Carol, of course, was indifferent, seeing as she had grown accustomed to getting comfortable being uncomfortable. She had a certain experience with undesirable situations. 

The majority of the press were only allowed outside the tower. When Sarah had heard about the event through Carol, she’d asked what it was being thrown for. Carol had dryly replied that Tony Stark didn’t need a reason to throw a party. While it made sense, given the billionaire’s ostentatious personality, Sarah remained skeptical. 

Carol and Sarah entered the building arm-in-arm, small, false smiles pasted on their faces as they passed through the press. Camera flashes blinded the shorter woman, who was unused to all the attention, and Carol was sure to keep her lover close to her side in case she stumbled. Sarah certainly wasn’t complaining about an excuse to grasp Carol’s upper arm as they walked. 

Once they cleared the foyer, FRIDAY had verified their identities and they were ushered into an elevator that went straight to the penthouse. Sarah hadn’t yet been to Stark Tower before, so she found it difficult to disguise her awe at the grandeur of the place. Tony certainly had great taste, if he was the one that had designed the beautiful interior. 

Sarah had to admit that she was a little nervous to meet the last few Avengers. Most of them were, at least occasionally, in and out of the New Avengers facility. So Sarah had met the majority of Carol’s teammates in passing. Some, including Thor and the self-named ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ were usually off-world, so the redhead had never gotten the chance to meet them. Thor would be in attendance today, and he usually brought Asgardian liquor with him (it was one of the few things that could get Carol intoxicated since she got her powers). Carol was sure he’d adore Sarah. Who wouldn’t?

For the first part of the evening, Carol took Sarah around to make introductions to those she hadn’t gotten to meet yet, staying close to help her feel more comfortable. If this had been a house party, she knew Sarah would have quickly retreated to the kitchen to help the host with something after a few interactions with complete strangers. 

They finally ran into Thor, and the huge blonde Asgardian took Sarah’s hand to kiss her knuckles in greeting. Carol laughed at the look on Sarah’s face. 

“I’ve heard much about you.” He grinned at Carol. “Danvers speaks of little else but her lady during training.”

Sarah felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment from both Thor’s chivalrous greeting and the implications of his words. She reached a hand up to habitually fiddle with her now-absent glasses. 

“I’m not sure what reason she could possibly have to mention me while she’s training.”

“Oh, she finds a way, believe me.” Steve spoke from where he’d just joined the group. The Avengers that were close enough to hear him laughed, so there had to be some truth to his words. 

Carol, for her part, looked unrepentant as ever as she shrugged, grinning widely. No denial, not even the slightest blush (Sarah was sure she was doing that enough for the both of them). Sarah would have thought there would be at least _some_ pink to her girlfriend’s cheeks, especially considering the Asgardian alcohol that Carol had started drinking, courtesy of Thor. 

Sarah was grateful when the subject was changed. 

“Captain Danvers, I haven’t seen you in the media much since you returned to us.” One woman of the group (an acquaintance of Tony’s, Sarah assumed) spoke as the laughter died down. “You were gone a long time.”

“There were a lot of planets that were thrown into chaos thanks to Thanos.” Carol replied. “And when we reversed what he did, they had to regain stability all over again...so it took a while to help out where I could.” 

_Sounds like a long few years._ Sarah thought. 

“Too bad you weren’t around to stop him in the first place.” 

The captain said nothing, her face remaining carefully blank. The other Avengers in the group looked surprised at the woman’s blatant accusation. 

“Carol was on the other side of the galaxy.” Sarah said calmly. “There was nothing she could have done.”

“Someone should have called her.” The woman squinted at Sarah. “Who are you again?”

“No one important.” Sarah’s voice remained soft. “You might consider showing a little more gratitude to the person who saved _us all._ ” The redhead sighed, turning away. She didn’t need to be around people that wanted to debate or fight about the past; she’d rather be working, at that point. 

Sarah avoided the eyes of those around her as she separated from the group. “Excuse me.” She dropped off her drink glass at the bar on her way to the bathroom. 

Sarah sighed again. God, she needed a break. 

* * *

The tiny scientist didn’t seem to notice the assortment of eyes that were fixed on her as she quietly, but sternly, put a complete stranger in their place. And in front of a group of people she hardly knew, no less. 

Carol had said nothing in her own defense as the woman (she hadn’t cared to remember her name) accosted her. It was nothing she hadn’t heard before; even her own teammates had, at first, questioned her whereabouts during the more recent planetary crises. But there was never _not_ trouble on some planet or another. So when she inevitably received criticism, she tried to let most of it just roll right off her back. 

The captain had watched in bewilderment as her small girlfriend had come to her defense, trying to preserve her honor. Even though she didn’t need to, that show of loyalty meant more to Carol than she suspected Sarah realized. 

Carol also hadn’t expected to feel the rush of heat that flared up as she saw Sarah walk away, towards the bar. She knew it was glaringly obvious that she was staring after her girlfriend longer than was strictly necessary. 

She didn’t bother glancing back at the now-silent group behind her as she quickly followed after the retreating figure of her girlfriend. She found herself beyond caring if her movements appeared desperate in her haste to catch up with Sarah. 

The blonde found her lover washing her hands in the bathroom, gazing at her reflection. Sarah looked to the door as Carol entered and smiled at her through the mirror. 

“Hey.” Sarah greeted. 

Letting the door shut behind her, Carol didn’t respond right away. She had the strangest look on her face; an expression of mixed awe and hunger. 

Sarah’s brows rose in trepidation. “What?”

Carol strode forward and grasped Sarah’s still-wet hands. 

“Come with me.” 

Her girlfriend tried to protest ( _“At least let me dry my hands first!”_ ), but Carol was determined. In moments, FRIDAY had admitted them into an empty room in the tower. Sarah barely had time to glance around the room (it looked to be a barracks room of some kind) before she found her back being slammed into the closed door behind her. Carol’s lips were on her’s, devouring, her hands grasping at the sides of Sarah’s neck, pulling her closer.

Sarah squeaked in surprise (though she certainly wasn’t complaining) and laughed through the intense kiss as she took Carol’s hands in her’s. 

“What brought this on, all of a sudden?” She breathed. 

“Just thought I’d thank you for defending my honor back there.” Carol said in a teasing tone as she kissed her way down Sarah’s neck. The redhead could feel the light pressure of Carol’s lips brushing against her pulse point, the blonde’s tongue swiping out to soothe the small nips and bites that Carol was leaving in her wake. “My hero.”

Sighing in pleasure, Sarah tried not to grip Carol’s carefully-styled hair too hard. She tilted her head back instinctively to give Carol more room to work.

“You know I would have said those things regardless, right?”

“Hm?” To her credit, Carol only sounded mildly distracted. 

“Even if we weren’t dating, I wouldn’t let someone talk about you that way.” 

Carol paused in her ministrations and pulled back to look into Sarah’s face. 

“You don’t deserve to be attacked like that.” Sarah continued, her eyes softening. “I know how much pressure you put on yourself, the weight you carry. And it’s bad enough without also agonizing about things you had no control over.”

Huffing out a laugh of amusement, Carol captured Sarah’s lips in a slow, gratitude-filled kiss. 

Carol rested her forehead against Sarah’s as they stood still for a moment, just enjoying each other’s proximity. The captain hoped that Sarah knew how thankful she was to have her around. 

“Sarah.” She murmured. 

“Yes?”

The taller woman’s expression melted into a salacious grin, her eyes smoldering with lust. She leaned forward and whispered into the other woman’s ear,

_“It’s later.”_


End file.
